Anything Else But the Truth
by deewriter19
Summary: Gabriella has the biggest crush on Troy - only problem: he's got a girlfriend - Sharpay, who happens to be her very best friend! How will Gabi cope with her feelings, especially when she and Troy are partners for a class project? TROYELLA, TROYPAY, & oth
1. I Can't Help Myself

**Author's Note: Hi Readers, thanks for visiting my newest fanfic. I know I still have to finish the epilogue to _Forever Yours,_ but I was inspired today to start my newest story. I hope you like it!**

**For this story, my chapters will be the titles of songs from various artists.**

**~Dee**

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**CHAPTER ONE : I CAN'T HELP MYSELF**

"I swear if I eat another one of your mom's brownies, I won't fit into any of my new school clothes." Sharpay Evans said to her best friend, Gabriella Montez. The girls were hanging out in Gabriella's room looking at magazines and gossiping about the new school year. It was the Saturday before the first day of school. The girls were excited because they were going to be seniors this year.

Gabriella stared at her friend and rolled her eyes. "Please, Shar, you could eat anything and not gain an ounce!"

Sharpay pouted and grabbed the side of her pink tank top and lifted the bottom and pinched what little excess skin was there, "See? I'm fat!"

Gabriella shook her head and chuckled, "Shar! You are not fat. Your stomach is flat as can be. Half the girls at East High want to look like you and be you! Please stop saying your fat, or else I'll have to hurt you." Gabriella giggled.

Sharpay dramatically fell back on Gabriella's bed. "Fine. You win. No more complaining from me." Then she gave Gabriella a devilish grin, "Alright, hand me one more brownie!" Gabriella laughed as she passed the plate of her mom's famous brownies to Sharpay. Everyone loved her mother's homemade brownies. The girls went back to munching brownies and browsing through copies of _Teen Vogue, Seventeen, and CosmoGirl._

"So, you know what day it is today, right?" Sharpay asked.

"Duh, it's Saturday," Gabriella told her.

Sharpay wrinkled her nose at her friend, "It's not just any Saturday, Gabs. Troy and the Wildcats are coming back from their basketball retreat today. They get in later this afternoon!"

Gabriella smiled at her friend. "I bet you're thrilled! How long have the guys been gone for?"

"A whole month! Which is way too long to keep me and Troy apart. We barely spoke in the last two weeks." Sharpay lamented.

"Why? I thought cell reception was fine out there." Gabriella said.

"Coach Bolton put the guys all on curfew. He wanted them to focus being that it's senior year and all. He wants them to go for back-to-back championship."

"But that game is like months away." Gabriella told her.

"Not to Coach Bolton, it isn't," Sharpay said. "The pressure is going to be a lot harder on Troy and the seniors on the team for many reasons. One: it's their last year to do something phenomenal as a team; two: colleges are recruiting these guys like crazy; you wouldn't believe how U of A is all over Troy and Chad, so they have to play as best as they can; and three: it's our final year at East High and these guys have to leave a legacy."

Gabriella smiled. "Well, those are all very great reasons and all, but will the guys even have time to just have fun and relax?"

Sharpay narrowed her eyes at Gabriella, "Gabs, you're not getting it. This is really important to all of them. And if it's important to Troy, then it's important to me."

"Hey, I get that," Gabriella told Sharpay, "but how are you going to feel being second to everything in Troy Bolton's life in the next months to come?"

"It's just something I'll have to get used to, I guess." Sharpay said quietly.

Gabriella reached over and hugged her best friend, "I'm sorry, Shar, I don't mean to be so negative. I just want to make sure that East High's golden couple is okay."

"Don't worry about it, Gabs. Troy and I have a strong relationship. We can survive anything." Sharpay smiled confidently at her.

Gabriella had to admit, her best friend's confidence was something almost every girl at East High wanted and admired. Of course, it didn't help that Sharpay was blonde, tan, slender, and gorgeous. Even more, Sharpay's boyfriend was Troy Bolton, East High's basketball captain and one of the hottest guys in the school. If Sharpay wasn't her best friend, Gabriella would probably hate her.

Gabriella thought about Sharpay and Troy. They were one of East High's top couple. They had started dating in the fall of their junior year. They looked like they belonged together. Gabriella couldn't help but feel jealous at times when she saw Troy and Sharpay walking down the hall holding hands or when she caught them sneaking kisses between classes. She kind of wished it was her holding hands with Troy and that he was sneaking kisses with her. Gabriella shook her head to get the image out of her mind.

Troy Bolton was an Adonis. A god. She knew she shouldn't think he was hot, but she couldn't help it. He wore his brown hair a little on the longish side and sometimes part of it fell in his eyes; on some guys it would've been grungy, but on Troy it was cute. And his eyes were so blue it was as if one could swim in them. Besides his looks, Troy was a great guy. He was nice, sincere, considerate, and so cool that everyone at East High wanted to be his friend. The guy pretty much owned the school. Gabriella could feel herself blush as she thought about him. _Stop it, _she told herself, _Troy Bolton is your best friend's boyfriend. Stop thinking about him_. This was a constant fight that Gabriella had been having with herself in the last six months or so. She wasn't sure what caused her to all of a sudden focus her attention on Troy, but it was torture to see him on the arms of Sharpay.

Sure, there were guys in the school that had asked her out on a date but she always turned everyone down. She was turning down so many dates, that the guys in the school gave her a nickname, the Ice Queen. She hated the nickname name but the truth was she wasn't interested in going out with any of them. There was only one guy in all of East High she wanted and he was already taken – by her very best friend. Gabriella knew she was an awful friend, but she couldn't help it. She was secretly in love with her best friend's boyfriend. She did what anyone would do in this situation; she avoided any real contact with Troy and kept their conversations light and quick.

Gabriella snapped out of her reverie as Sharpay cleared her throat. "Sorry, Shar, I was just thinking."

"About what? Or more importantly, about who?" Sharpay chirped.

Gabriella turned her head away from Sharpay's so that she couldn't see her face getting red. "Nothing. Just about school."

"Right," Sharpay said, without believing her. "Anyway, like I was saying, I'm not worried about me and Troy, okay. Besides, let's worry more about finding you a boyfriend!" Sharpay teased.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Sharpay, I don't want a boyfriend. I'll be too busy with my honors classes to even think about boys."

"What about all the dances we'll have this year? You have to have a boyfriend to take you." Sharpay whined. "The dances won't be fun if you're not there."

Gabriella laughed, "If you think school dances are going to entice me, think again my friend."

"But I'll have so much more fun if you're at the dance with me." Sharpay told her, and then her eyes lit up as the smile on her face grew wider. "I just had the most genius idea."

"What?" Gabriella asked.

"I am so going to set you up with Chad Danforth!" Sharpay screamed. "It'd be perfect. You're my best friend. He's Troy's best friend. It'd be awesome. We'll have so much fun together." Sharpay went on excitedly.

Gabriella put her hand up to stop her friend's rambles. "Sharpay, as cool as Chad is, I'm not interested in him like that."

"Why not? He's cute, funny, and spontaneous. You could use some spontaneity in your life, Gabs."

"I don't know, Shar. Chad's just not my type."

"And what is? I've seen you turn down at least eight guys in our class. What does a guy need to have for you to go out with him?" Sharpay inquired.

Gabriella walked over to the doors that led out to her balcony, she closed her eyes as she smelled the fresh air. _I know what he doesn't need,_ Gabriella thought to herself. She sighed as she said, "I don't know, Shar, but can we leave the subject alone for now, please?"

"Fine. I'll leave it alone for now, but we'll talk more about this later. Anyway, I better get going. Troy gets in a couple of hours. I need to get ready!"

Gabriella laughed, "You need two hours to get ready?" Gabriella teased her friend as they made their way to the front door.

"Of course," Sharpay giggled. "Anyway, toodles!"

"Toodles," Gabriella said. As she closed the door after Sharpay, Gabriella leaned her back against it. _News flash,Gabriella_, she thought, _Troy Bolton is not available. Move on_. If only she could.


	2. Suddenly I See

**Author's Note: I know it's been a while since I updated. My parents were in town last week so I was super busy. Hope you enjoy the second chapter!**

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CHAPTER TWO: SUDDENLY I SEE

It was Saturday night and Gabriella was lying around her room bored out of her mind. She knew that Sharpay was busy with Troy and she hadn't really made any plans with any of their other friends. She was lying on her bed thinking about the school year ahead of her. She knew she had a busy schedule this fall taking on at least four honors classes. Her grades were excellent and she was near the top of their class. She would be applying to colleges soon and she and her mother had made plans to visit some of the colleges she was considering.

Gabriella's thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. She saw Sharpay's name light up on the screen. She clicked the answer button. "Hey Shar! What's up?"

"Gabs! You have got to get over to Troy's ASAP. We are having a party!" Sharpay exclaimed.

"A party? What happened to spending some time alone with Troy?" Gabriella asked.

"Well, it was just going to be us, then Chad and Jason stopped by, and before you know it the rest of the team does too, and then they invited people, and now I'm inviting you! Seriously, we're having a great time, you need to be here." Sharpay told her.

Gabriella laughed. "Alright, I'll be over as soon as I tell my mom. See you in a bit!"

"See ya!" Sharpay squealed.

Gabriella went down to the living room to find her mother. She knew her mom wouldn't have a problem with her going over to Troy's. Gabriella smiled as she found her mother on the couch reading a book. "Hey Mom," she said.

"Gabriella, you should be out and about; not home on a Saturday night." Mrs. Montez said.

"And I can say the same for you, Mom," Gabriella chided. "You should be out, too!"

"Oh Sweetie, I'm too old to go out."

Gabriella rolled her eyes at her mom. "You are far from old. Anyway, since you want me to go out, Sharpay just called and said there's a party going on at Troy Bolton's. Is it okay if I go over?"

Mrs. Montez smiled at her daughter. "Yes, you can go to Troy's. Just don't come home so late. Have a great time!"

"Thanks Mom." Gabriella headed back to her room to find something to wear. She looked through her clothes and settled on a denim skirt and a red v-neck top. She brushed her long dark curly hair and applied some lip gloss on. She grabbed her purse and keys to her Jeep Cherokee. Gabriella buckled herself into her jeep and backed out of the driveway and made the 20 minute drive over to Troy Bolton's house.

As she neared Troy's house, Gabriella felt nervous all of a sudden. Gabriella groaned inwardly, she knew she shouldn't feel like this, but she couldn't help herself. She hadn't seen Troy since the team left for the basketball retreat at the end of July. Besides, she really needed to get over this crush. He was dating her best friend. Gabriella parked her jeep and made her way to the front door of Troy's large house. Troy's house was at the end of the block. The Boltons lived in a two-level home complete with a basketball court in their expansive yard.

Gabriella could hear music blaring from the house as she ranged the doorbell. She just hoped someone would hear her. She wasn't waiting more than 10 seconds when the door swung open. "Gabs!" Sharpay screamed throwing her arms around her best friend.

Gabriella laughed. "Ouch, Shar, could you scream any louder?" She teased.

Sharpay took her hand and led her into the house. "About time you got here." She said.

Gabriella looked at her watch. "It always takes about 20 minutes to get over here. You know that as well as I do."

"Fine, whatever." Sharpay said, sticking her tongue out. Gabriella looked around and saw several kids from their class – some standing around in groups talking, some dancing, and some munching on food. "Hey everyone, look who just arrived!" Sharpay exclaimed, much to Gabriella's embarrassment.

Gabriella could feel her face get red. If there was anything she hated more in the world it was having attention on herself. She had never liked being in the spotlight. She smiled sheepishly and said hello to their mutual friends. Two of the girls standing to the side made their way over to her.

"Hey Gabi!" Taylor McKessie said.

"Hey Tay!" Gabriella smiled back at the pretty black girl in front of her. Tonight, Taylor was wearing a very cute gray polo dress with a matching headband in her short black bob. Then she smiled at the petite girl standing next to Taylor. "Hi Kelsi. Write any new songs lately?"

Kelsi smiled as she pushed her glasses back up on her nose. Besides being petite, Kelsi was a talented composer. "Oh, you know, just working on some pieces for the fall show."

Gabriella laughed. "Kels, you're amazing, you know that? You make composing music sound like it's the easiest thing in the world!"

Kelsi smiled and shrugged. "What can I say? When you love something, you can just do it easily."

"So, Taylor, what have you been up to lately?" Gabriella asked.

"Well, I've been reviewing my notes for our first decathlon competition, looking at colleges, and getting ready to apply early admin to some schools." Taylor replied.

"Taylor, our first decathlon isn't for another month and a half!" Gabriella teased. Taylor was the captain of the scholastic decathlon and she had recruited Gabriella to be a member of the team during sophomore year. "Anyway, which schools are you looking at?"

Taylor smiled. "I've been looking at a lot of Ivy League schools, but Yale is my number one choice. I'm also applying to Brown, Dartmouth, Columbia, and Stanford."

"Oh my gosh!" Gabriella exclaimed. "Stanford's my top choice! We should go visit on a weekend together!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Taylor agreed. She turned to Kelsi, "Kels, what about you? Where have you decided to apply?"

"There's only one place I want to be at." Kelsi told them. "Juliard."

"As talented as you are, they would be fools to overlook you." Gabriella told her.

"Thanks Gabriella." Kelsi said, giving her a smile.

Gabriella was about to respond when she felt a hand grab hers. "Sorry ladies," Sharpay interrupted, "but I need to talk to Gabs. Be right back!"

Gabriella gave Taylor and Kelsi a small wave as she was led away by her best friend. "Where are you taking me?"

"You'll see," Sharpay responded in a sing-song voice. Gabriella followed Sharpay into Troy's kitchen. She looked around and saw that Troy was in there along with Chad Danforth. _Oh, boy, this should be fun_, Gabriella thought.

Chad turned when he saw the girls come in. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Montez."

"Hey Chad. Fun retreat?" She asked.

"It had its' ups and downs." Chad smiled. "So, how was your last month of summer?"

"Not bad at all. With you guys gone, I had to entertain Sharpay all month." Gabriella teased.

"And you loved it!" Sharpay chirped.

"I don't know about that," Gabriella drawled, giving her friend a smile.

Troy placed an arm around Sharpay's shoulders and looked right at Gabriella. "Thanks for keeping her out of trouble, Gabriella. I know she can be a handful!"

"Hey!" Sharpay protested with a laugh.

Gabriella could feel her face flushing as Troy smiled at her. She turned her attention back to Chad to avoid looking at him. "So Chad, looking forward to senior year?"

"You know it," he said. "We're going to have the best year ever."

Before Gabriella could respond, Sharpay interrupted them. "We'll leave you two alone." She gave Gabriella a pointed look and grabbed Troy's hand. "Come on Troy, let's go dance." As they left the kitchen, Gabriella chuckled and shook her head.

Chad gave her a puzzled look. "What's so funny?"

"It's just that Sharpay's trying to get us together." Gabriella told him.

"Ah, so that's why she's been asking me about you all night." Chad said.

"Chad, you're awesome and all, but you're like a brother to me."

"Hey, the feelings mutual. Besides I have my eyes set on someone else. Perhaps you could help me there."

"And who's the lucky lady?"

"A certain brainiac like you."

Gabriella slowly smiled. "Chad Danforth, are you telling me that you like Taylor McKessie?"

Chad's blushed at the mention of Taylor's name. "Yes," he said bashfully. "Maybe you can find out if she likes me."

"No problem." Gabriella told him. She knew for a fact that Taylor had a crush on Chad as well. She would have to make sure those two got together sooner than later. "I'm certain she'll say yes if you ask her out. Trust me."

"Thanks Gabi, you're the greatest."

She gave Chad a smirk. "You know it." She said breaking out into a laugh. "Anyway, let's get back to the others before Sharpay plans our wedding."

Chad laughed. "You're like the coolest girl I know."

"Thanks Chad. You're cool, too." They made their way out of the kitchen and joined the rest of partiers in Troy's living room. Chad went and joined Jason Cross and some other basketball players. Gabriella went to grab a soda from the refreshment cooler. Gabriella took the time by herself to look around the room. She smiled as she saw Martha Cox showing some cheerleaders a new dance move. Sharpay's twin brother, Ryan had joined Chad and the basketball players. She looked around for Sharpay and didn't see her blonde friend anywhere. She figured Sharpay and Troy must have snuck off somewhere. Just the thought about that made her ill. Kind of. She knew she needed to stop feeling this way about Troy, but she couldn't help it.

Gabriella took a sip of her diet coke and felt like someone was staring at her. She looked around the room until her eyes met up with the irresistible crystal blue ones of Troy Bolton's. She gave a startled gasp as she caught Troy staring at her. Troy's face got red as he realized she had seen him. Instead of looking away, Troy winked at her. Gabriella blushed as she looked away. She didn't know what to think. Had she just imagined Troy Bolton staring at her and then giving her a wink? Now that she had caught Troy, she didn't feel so great. She didn't want her best friend's boyfriend looking at other girls, even it was herself. It was wrong on all accounts. Now, she knew what she had to do. She had to get over her crush. Pronto.

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**A/N: This chapter is called "Suddenly I See" a song by KT Tunstall**


	3. We Are Man and Wife

**CHAPTER THREE: WE ARE MAN AND WIFE**

Gabriella parked her jeep in the student lot and made her way to the front of East High. The group had agreed to meet outside before going in together. This was their year. They had to make an entrance. Gabriella ran a hand through her dark hair, which she had straightened that morning. She pulled her compact mirror out and checked her make-up. She had lined her eyes with a charcoal colored liner and dusted her lids with a shimmery bronze shadow. Her cheeks were naturally rosy and she had applied on a shade of rose colored lipstick. She smiled and checked her teeth. Satisfied with her appearance, she made her way to meet up with her friends. She smoothed out her red jersey knit wrap dress. The dress had cap sleeves and the skirt fell right above her knees. She completed the look with a pair of silver flats.

She smiled as she saw her group of friends. Taylor and Kelsi were talking to each other and looking at something in Taylor's hand. Martha Cox was talking to her boyfriend, Jason Cross. Chad was in conversation with Ryan and he kept shooting glances in Taylor's direction. Then she saw the golden couple. Gabriella was glad she had put her sunglasses on; she didn't want anyone to see the disappointment in her eyes as she stared at Troy and Sharpay. Sharpay had her arms around Troy's waist as he was talking to some of the other basketball players. Troy looked really cute in low-hung faded jeans and a navy blue polo shirt. His hair was getting longish and some of it fell into his eyes. She was still confused about what happened a few nights ago at the party. The more she thought about it over the weekend, she was certain that he had winked at her. She didn't want to dwell too much on it, she wasn't sure if she was ready for the answer.

Before she could ponder some more about Troy, Sharpay broke from him and ran over to meet her. Gabriella felt like an awful friend. Sharpay was so sweet to her and this was how she repaid her best friend, by having a major crush on her boyfriend. Sharpay looked gorgeous today. She was wearing a violet colored spaghetti strapped dress and her blonde hair was in soft curls down her back.

"Hey Gabs!" Sharpay greeted, giving her a hug.

"Hi Sharpay," Gabriella said back to her. "Can you believe it, we're seniors!"

"Woo-hoo," Sharpay cheered. "We are so going to rule the school. The little freshmen better watch it." She teased.

"Oh, I think they'll just worship you." Gabriella told her.

"And why would they do that?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes and laughed. "You haven't noticed that every girl that's walked by has been staring at Troy." _Including me,_ Gabriella thought guiltily.

"Of course I've noticed I just wanted to hear you tell me, that's all." Then she gave Gabriella a serious look. "I think this is it, Gabs."

"What is?"

"Troy. He's the one." Sharpay whispered making sure nobody could hear her. "I know we've only been dating less than a year, but I know in my heart that I love him. I do."

Gabriella was shocked. She hadn't expected this revelation from Sharpay. She realized she hadn't said anything and gave her best friend her undivided attention. "Well, have you told Troy?" She asked like a good friend would.

"Not yet. I'm thinking about doing it in three weeks on our anniversary. We started dating October 1st, remember?"

"Of course," Gabriella said. "Well, that's wonderful. You guys are great together." The sad truth was that Sharpay and Troy were really great together. It just killed her to admit it.

"Well, how about you and Chad? Did he ask you out?" Sharpay asked.

"Shar," Gabriella started, "the truth about Chad is that he's like a brother to me. Besides, I'm going to help him get Taylor."

Sharpay's smiled widened. "Chad likes Taylor? Oh my God! How come I didn't pick up on that earlier? We should so set them up."

Gabriella giggled. "Shar, you're too much. Only seconds ago you wanted to set me up with Chad."

"Well, you obviously don't like him. So, we're moving on." Sharpay laughed. "But seriously, I will not allow you to go through high school without a boyfriend. Gabs, look at you. You're a hottie! More than half the guys in this school want to go out with you. I just don't understand why you haven't agreed to a date with any of them."

Gabriella blushed at the mention of her hotness. Sharpay was always pointing it out to her, but she felt self conscious about it. She lacked the confidence that Sharpay had. Sharpay knew she was gorgeous and loved the attention she got because of her looks. For Gabriella, she knew she was pretty, but she didn't like getting the attention because of it.

"I'm just not interested in dating right now. I have to focus and keep my grades up if I want to get into Stanford." Gabriella told her, knowing her reason was lame.

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "You're a genius Gabs. I don't think dating would affect your focus or grades. You could sleep through senior year and ace every exam without trying."

Gabriella laughed. "Thanks Shar." She checked her watch. "We should head to homeroom. Can't wait to see how kooky Darbus has gotten."

"Hey! I love Darbus. She may be kooky but she is quite genius when it comes to running the theatre department." Sharpay protested.

"If you say so," Gabriella chirped. They turned to their other friends and everyone greeted each other. Gabriella made sure to avoid Troy Bolton. But she couldn't help feeling that someone was staring t her. She resisted looking around just in case it was Troy. She turned her attention to Taylor and Kelsi and Sharpay made her way over to Troy and they walked into East High holding hands. They all headed towards Ms. Darbus' class for homeroom.

Gabriella walked in and took the last seat in the middle row. Even in homeroom, they had assigned seats. Taylor sat in front of her. Troy was in the row to the left of hers in the front, with Chad behind him. Sharpay was in the front seat of the row to the right of hers. From where she sat, she noticed Sharpay staring over at Troy and he was looking straight at the front of the room.

A few minutes before the bell rang; Ms. Darbus entered the room wearing a multi color tunic over cream colored pants. She smiled as she stared at the teacher's display of colorful jewelry to match her wild outfit. "Greetings students." She called out. "Now that summer is far and away, we must focus on the year ahead of us." There were some groans as she mentioned the word focus.

A sudden knock at the door got their attention. Their principal Mr. Matsui motioned for Ms. Darbus to come out to the hall. Taylor turned around to face Gabriella. "Wonder what's going on?"

Gabriella shrugged. "Who knows?"

Taylor was about to respond when Ms. Darbus walked back into the classroom, followed by a tall good-looking boy with skin color of mocha. He looked nervous. "Students, please meet your new classmate." Ms. Darbus announced. "This is Zeke Baylor and he just moved here from San Diego. I'm sure you will all give him a big East High welcome." Zeke looked up and gave a small smile. He looked extremely nervous. "Mr. Baylor, please take a seat behind Ms. Evan in the second row there. Ms. Evans, please raise your hand so that Mr. Baylor knows where to go."

Sharpay raised her hand and gave the new student a smile. Zeke walked over and took a seat behind her. Then Sharpay turned her head to the side until she could make eye contact with Gabriella. "You and Zeke," she mouthed.

Gabriella shook her head and rolled her eyes at Sharpay. She knew no matter what she said, her best friend would not give up until she got Gabriella a boyfriend. Ms. Darbus cleared her throat to get their attention. "I want to introduce something that is new this year to the curriculum. Instead of having a free period every day, seniors and juniors will be taking a new course that has been granted by the school district."

Chad raised his hand. "Ms. D, they can't take free period away. We need it for extra practices."

Ms. Darbus gave Chad a smile. "Mr. Danforth, you'll still get free period on Mondays and Tuesdays. Wednesday through Friday, you will all be taking Family Living."

"What's Family Living?" Jason Cross asked.

"In Family Living you will learn about the essentials of life outside of school. You will learn to be parents, to budget an income, and balance a checkbook – things that you will all need in order to function as adults."

"What if I don't want to be a parent? Do I have to take the class?" Chad asked. There were other students who agreed with him.

"Regardless of that, you are expected to participate and attend class. It'll be good for all of you. You'll be learning about responsibilities and things that most kids don't learn until it's too late. I'm sure you will all enjoy the class. Wait until you hear about the first project."

"First project!" Jason exclaimed. "How many projects are going to be in this class?"

"Mr. Cross, please." Ms. Darbus said. "The first project will have you paired up and you'll be in charge of having one of these." Ms. Darbus walked behind her desk and pulled a baby doll out.

Troy laughed. "I am not caring a doll around."

"I second that." Chad agreed. The two exchanged high fives.

"Well, gentlemen, these are not just any dolls, these are your babies. You will be expected to take care of a baby. Please note that every doll comes equip with a reader that records how fast you respond to its' needs. In homeroom today, I'm to announce the pairs and give each pair their baby. You are expected to meet in this room for Family Living tomorrow." Ms. Darbus pulled a list off her desk. "And before you even suggest it, there are no exchanges. The partner you get is the person you will work on this project with – no ifs, ands, or buts about it." Ms. Darbus looked around the room at the seniors daring them to challenge her. Once satisfied, Ms. Darbus went on, "When I call the pairs, please come up here and grab a baby and your assignment packets. In the packets it will tell you what jobs you have and the income for your family."

Taylor turned around and gave Gabriella a smile. "This project actually sounds fascinating."

Gabriella nodded in agreement. "I know. But, it'll be a bit crazy having to carry a baby around."

Ms. Darbus' voice interrupted them. "The first pair is Martha Cox and Ryan Evans." Martha and Ryan walked to the front of the room and retrieved their baby. Martha gave Jason an apologetic smile and shrugged. Jason, being the cool guy that he was, winked at his girlfriend and gave her a smile.

"The next pair is," Ms. Darbus went on "Jason Cross and Melanie Hartner." As Jason and Melanie walked to the front of the room and retrieved their baby from Ms. Darbus, they exchanged a high-five. Gabriella looked over at Martha and noticed her friend's expression. Melanie was a cheerleader with Martha and she knew that before Martha and Jason dated, Melanie had a crush on him. But Gabriella knew Jason would never do anything behind Martha's back. He was devoted to her.

"Sharpay Evans," Ms. Darbus said. Gabriella noticed Sharpay look over at Troy. She knew her best friend would be crushed if she wasn't paired with her boyfriend. "You will partner up with our new student, Zeke Baylor." Zeke gave Sharpay a smile and she politely returned it and went to grab their doll. Sharpay looked at Gabriella and pouted. Gabriella shrugged her shoulders and mouthed "sorry" to her.

"Chad Danforth and Taylor McKessie" Ms. Darbus said, smiling at them. "You will be proud parents of twins."

Chad's mouth dropped open. "That is so not fair!" He exclaimed. "I can't handle two babies!"

Taylor giggled. "It's because you're still a baby, Chad," she quipped, which caused the class to erupt with laughter.

Ms. Darbus smiled. "Come and retrieve your babies Mr. Danforth and Ms. McKessie." Chad and Taylor made their way to the front and each grabbed a doll. Gabriella was happy for Chad and Taylor and tried to meet Chad's eyes to let him know this was a good thing.

Ms. Darbus went on and called other pairs. Gabriella was still waiting for her name to be called. Then she realized that Troy's name hadn't been called either. By now most of the pairs were sitting together. There were only four people left – her, Troy, Kelsi, and Chuck, another basketball player. "We are down to the last two pairs. Kelsi Nielsen and Chuck Thaler please come and get your baby. And last but not least, Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez. Come on up."

Gabriella was stunned. She couldn't believe that she and Troy were going to be partners. She wasn't sure if she'd be okay with it or if Sharpay would. Gabriella's thinking was correct once she heard Sharpay gasp. She turned and gave Sharpay an apologetic look. Sharpay raised her hand and before Ms. Darbus could call on her, Sharpay spoke out. "Ms. Darbus, this is not fair. Can't we switch places? Gabriella would totally be okay with it." Gabriella threw Sharpay an annoyed look.

Ms. Darbus smirked. "Ms. Evans, I made it clear at the beginning that there would be no partner changes. Everyone was selected at random and you will work with the partner assigned to you."

Sharpay crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine." She pouted some more.

Gabriella walked to the front of the room to grab their doll, just as she reached Ms. Darbus' desk, Troy was by her side. "Hey Wifey," he teased. He showed Gabriella their assignment packet, "It says we're husband and wife and we've been married for two years. This is our first baby, a little boy."

Gabriella smiled and looked down at the doll cradled in her arms. "Sweet. What should we call our baby?"

"I was thinking Troy Jr." Troy told her. "And we can call him T.J. for short."

Gabriella looked at Troy and smiled. "I actually like that."

Troy gave her a big smile, his blue eyes sparkling, "See, we make a great team already." Troy slid an arm around her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm glad we're partners," he told her.

Gabriella gave Troy a small smile and moved out from his arm. The last thing she needed was for Sharpay to witness their exchange and get mad. But she agreed with Troy. She was glad that they were partners. They'd always gotten along and it'd be easier to get through the project with someone she knew rather than someone she really didn't. "I'm glad we're partners, too." She told him. She just hoped that she could control her emotions since they would be working closely together the next few weeks.

* * *

**A/N: The title of this chapter is "We Are Man and Wife" a beautiful song by Michelle Featherstone**


	4. Where Is My Mind?

****

CHAPTER FOUR: WHERE IS MY MIND?

During free period, the girls decided to meet in the music room because Kelsi wanted to practice the latest music she had composed. They were discussing the Family Living class project. Gabriella was glad that once the bell rang to end homeroom, Ms. Darbus had collected their dolls back from them. They would get their dolls back once they started their class tomorrow.

"It's just so unfair," Sharpay complained. "I should be with Troy."

Gabriella looked away so that her friends couldn't see her expression. Sharpay's complaining was starting to get on her nerves. Apparently it was getting on all their nerves because Taylor said, "Shar, you need to let it go."

"Besides," Martha said, "you should be happy that Troy got paired up with Gabriella and not someone like Melanie Hartner."

"I guess I should be happy about that, Martha. I'm sorry that Jason got paired up with Melanie, but you know you have nothing to worry about. Jason's crazy about you." Sharpay said.

Gabriella nodded in agreement. "Jason's a good guy. He would never do anything to hurt you."

Martha smiled. "Thanks for making me feel better."

"Despite some opinions about the partners, the project should be fun nonetheless." Taylor said.

"Agreed." Kelsi spoke up. "Chuck and I are going to have a blast together."

Sharpay smiled. "So, Kels, do you have a thing for Chuck?"

Kelsi blushed, "No, I kind of like someone else."

"Oh, do tell!" Gabriella goaded.

Kelsi shook her head, "Sorry ladies, I'm keeping my lips sealed for now."

Sharpay jokingly pouted. "That's no fair!"

"Well, you'll just have to wait. I'm not saying anymore on the subject." Kelsi said. "Actually Shar, tell us about the new guy."

"What new guy?" Sharpay asked.

Taylor and Gabriella laughed and rolled their eyes at her. "Hello! He's your partner for the project." Gabriella pointed out.

Sharpay sighed. "Oh, that guy. There's not much to say about him. His name is Zeke and he just moved here from San Diego. Other than that I don't know anything else."

"He's actually pretty cute," Taylor said.

"Then why don't you date him," Sharpay teased. "Besides, I hadn't noticed he was cute."

Martha laughed. "Yeah, it's because you spend all your time staring at Troy Bolton! Even if he is your boyfriend, it's still okay to notice the other boys in our class. We're only in high school!"

"I don't want to stare at anyone else. I only have eyes for Troy." Sharpay told her friends. "Besides, like I told Gabs this morning. I think Troy's the one."

"What?" Taylor exclaimed. "He's the one?"

Sharpay gave her friends a big smile. "Yes, Troy's the one. I told Gabs earlier that I love him, I really do. I'm going to tell him on our anniversary in three weeks."

"Awww," Martha said, "that's so sweet."

Kelsi nodded. "You are so lucky Sharpay. Troy's a great guy. I'm happy for you both." The other girls all quickly agreed and nodded which boosted Sharpay's mood. Gabriella just sat there without much of a reaction. So she just gave Sharpay a small smile. It was the only reaction she could give her at this time_. _She knew that once the project started, she'd be working closely with Troy. Just the thought about that made her happy. Gabriella sighed._ There was no doubt about it, she was the worst best friend in the world,_ she thought bitterly.

* * *

It was near the end of free period and Troy had ended practice a few minutes early. "Good practice team. We keep playing the way we do, there's no doubt we'll be champions again." He told his teammates with a big smile. "Alright, hit the showers."

The rest of the team left the gym as Troy, Chad, and Jason grabbed the basketballs and put them back on the rack. It also allowed them time to talk. "So, Chad, are you excited about the project? Since you're paired up with Taylor." Jason asked.

Chad smiled. "It'll be cool working with Taylor, but it's so unfair that we get twins! I don't want to carry two dolls around."

"What about you Troy? Aren't you disappointed you didn't get paired up with Sharpay?" Jason asked.

"Nah. It's cool." Troy said. "I'm glad I'm paired up with Gabriella. She's a cool girl."

"Yeah she is." Chad agreed. "But aren't you the least bit upset that Sharpay's partners with the new guy?"

"No," Troy told them. "Why should I be? It's a school project. You heard Darbus, the pairs were selected at random. It is what it is."

"Sure, say that all you want, Troy," Jason said. "I'm glad Martha got paired up with Ryan cause I know he'd never try anything with my girl."

Troy laughed. "Do you think Martha's thrilled your partners with Melanie? Since she so wanted you last year."

"Ha ha, Troy. Thanks for reminding me about that. Melanie's cool and all, but she's not Martha by a long shot." Jason said.

"Well, you better make sure your girl knows that, or you'll have trouble with how much time you'll be spending with Melanie." Chad advised.

"I hope it's not too much time." Jason said. "This project blows."

Troy just gave his friends a big smile. "I actually look forward to working on this project. It'll be fun."

Chad gave him a dubious look. "Fun? Are you crazy Bolton? Since when do you find projects fun?"

Troy shrugged his shoulders. "No reason." He looked away and could feel his cheeks getting red. He knew it was hard to keep anything from Chad or Jason, they've known him long enough to figure there was something more to what he was saying.

"Dude!" Chad exclaimed. "Please tell me it's not true."

"What's not true?" Troy asked giving Chad his best confused look.

"I should've known. You've practically hinted at it all summer." Chad said.

"What was Troy hinting about?" Jason asked.

Chad shook his head at Troy. "You know you can't possibly even think of the idea."

"Chad," Troy told him, " I have no idea what you're talking about."

Chad gave Troy a smirk. "Hoops, you're so full of it. But seriously, you need to back away from the situation. You can't do that to them."

Jason looked at the two of them, "Okay, you need to fill me in. What's going on?"

Chad rolled his eyes at Troy. "Bolton's in over his head. Although he's dating Sharpay, he likes someone else."

"Who?" Jason wanted to know.

Chad looked at Jason, "You don't want to know, trust me."

"Come on guys, stop keeping things from me." Jason whined.

Before Chad could say anything, Troy said, "Jason, Chad seems to think that I have a thing for Gabriella."

"What? You like Gabriella?" Jason asked incredulously.

Troy shook his head. "I don't like Gabriella like that. Chad just has a big imagination."

Chad grinned. "I heard what I heard this summer and at the basketball retreat. You kept asking me questions about Gabriella, remember?"

"Not really," Troy said, looking away from his friends. He didn't want them to see his cheeks getting red at the mention of Gabriella.

"Right." Chad said. "Besides, you can't do anything about it. You're dating Sharpay remember?"

"What if we weren't dating anymore?" Troy asked.

Jason laughed. "You still can't do anything about it, Troy. It's all about the best friend code. You don't go after a best friend's ex, ever. Do you honestly think Gabriella would go for you? She's turned down every guy that's asked her out. I swear, she doesn't date high school boys. I mean look at her. Why would she?"

This time, it was Chad's turn to point at Jason. "Dude, you're checking out Gabriella? What would Martha say?" He laughed.

Jason raised his hands in mock surrender. "I'm crazy about Martha but it doesn't mean I don't notice other girls. It's not like we all don't think Gabriella's hot, you know she is."

Chad nodded. "Yeah, you're right. So, Troy, seriously, you really think you want to mess with their friendship like that? You can't do that to them. You know how close Gabi and Sharpay are."

Troy just shrugged. "Well, sooner or later, I'm going to end things with Sharpay. I just haven't felt the connection for the past few months. I guess, which is around the time I started noticing Gabriella." Troy paused and looked at his friends. He sighed, "I don't know. I just feel like when I talk to Gabriella, we actually have a real conversation. With Sharpay it's always about basketball, drama, or fashion. I'm sick of talking about those things."

"Well, the only advice I'll give you is this. Tread carefully, my friend." Chad told him.

Jason nodded in agreement. "I won't say anything to anyone else, but you do need to be careful here. Maybe you should end things with Sharpay but don't do anything about Gabriella. You really should let it go."

Troy looked at his best friends and smiled. "Maybe. I can't say that I will or won't, but thanks for the advice." Troy took another look at his friends and shook his head and laughed. "We really need to get out of here. I'm starting to feel like we're on Oprah or something." The trio laughed and headed towards the locker room. Troy definitely felt better that he let his best friends know about Gabriella. He'd been keeping it in for so long; he was ready to let it burst. _I just hope I do the right thing,_ he thought. He knew his friends were right when they said he should tread carefully. He obviously didn't want to hurt Sharpay, but he couldn't help it that he liked her best friend. He had tried hard not to like her, but in doing that he just wanted her more.

* * *

**A/N: The title of this chapter is "Where Is My Mind?" a truly wonderful song by the Pixies!**


	5. Over My Head

**CHAPTER FIVE: OVER MY HEAD**

Gabriella was nervous as she made her way back to Darbus' classroom for their Family Living class. Yesterday, the rest of the day had gone by quickly and she hadn't seen much of Troy. Now she was expected to sit next to him and take care of a baby with him. She pulled on her cropped blazer and smoothed the simple white v-neck top she wore underneath it. She walked into the class and noticed the desks had been rearranged so that each pair sat next to each other.

Surprisingly Troy was already in the classroom, and when he saw her he gave her a big smile and gestured for him to join him. Gabriella smiled and made her way over to Troy. They were in the back corner of the room.

"Hi Gabriella," Troy said.

"Hi Troy," she smiled at him. "Thanks for saving me a seat."

"No problem." He told her.

Gabriella noticed Chad and Taylor in front of them and Martha and Ryan to the left of her. She greeted her friends as they waited for the class to start. She noticed Sharpay hadn't come in yet and her partner Zeke was in the row closest to the doors and in the front. Gabriella knew Sharpay was going to be pissed when she realized her friends were all in one corner of the room.

"So, Gabriella," Troy started, interrupting her thoughts. "This project should be fun, don't you think?"

She nodded. "I think so. I just hope that we don't have to carry these babies everywhere we go. Can you imagine going to the bathroom and having to take the doll with us?"

Troy started laughing. "Gabriella, you're so funny. I'm sure there are some ground rules and the baby can avoid the bathroom visit."

Gabriella's face reddened. _What the hell is my problem,_ she thought. _How can I bring something up like going to the bathroom with Troy? Geez._ "Er, I was just kidding," she said quickly.

"No, it was really funny and pretty cool of you to say that. I'm not sure most girls would." Troy gave her an encouraging smile.

"Thanks Troy." She told him quietly. The whole time they had been talking, she knew she couldn't keep her eyes off of him. Troy had been looking at her the whole time, too. Gabriella heard a cough and it snapped her back to attention. She turned her head and saw Sharpay standing to the right of Troy. "Hey, Sharpay," she gave her friend a smile.

Sharpay narrowed her eyes at them. "How could you not save me a seat back here?" She whined.

"Sorry, Shar," Troy interrupted. "I wasn't thinking. By the time we were all in here, your partner already took a seat by the door."

Sharpay turned towards Troy. "It's just so unfair. First, we don't get paired together. Now, we can't even sit together." She pouted to Troy.

Troy gave her a shrug. "Sharpay, it's all good. But you really should stop complaining."

Sharpay gasped. "But Troy," she started. "How can you say that to me?"

"Seriously, leave it alone." Troy told her without giving her much of a glance.

Gabriella felt bad as she witnessed the exchange going on between Troy and Sharpay. Sharpay looked over at Gabriella, her eyes close to tears. Gabriella looked at Troy and gave him a withering glance. "Hey Shar, let me walk with you back to your desk." Gabriella grabbed Sharpay's arm and brought her friend back over to where Zeke sat.

"Did you hear how Troy spoke to me?" Sharpay said quietly.

"Shar, don't take it personally. I'm sure Troy didn't mean to say it the way he did."

"Are you sure? He sounded annoyed." Sharpay said.

Gabriella gave her a small smile. "You want the truth?"

Sharpay nodded. "Yes." She managed to get out with a small whimper.

"The truth is that your complaining is kind of hard to deal with. There's nothing more that you can do about Troy being partners with me. And where we're sitting is not a big deal either. You just have to let it go, okay?" Gabriella told her friend politely.

"Thanks for being honest, Gabs." Sharpay said. "I'll take your advice. Can you please ask Troy how he feels about me?"

"What are you talking about?" Gabriella asked.

"The past few days he's been kind of ignoring me." Sharpay said.

"You two looked perfectly fine yesterday. You walked into school hand-in-hand." Gabriella told her.

"Only because I forced his hand into mine." Sharpay looked like she was going to cry.

"Shar, what's going on?" Gabriella asked.

"I don't know. It all started the night of the party at Troy's house. We were having a good time, but then he started acting all weird towards the end of the night." Sharpay confessed to her best friend.

Gabriella silently gasped. She hoped it had nothing to do with Troy staring at her. "But what about all the talk about Troy being the one? Your relationship must be solid to feel that way."

"You know me, Gabs." Sharpay said. "I just said all that stuff to show that I was strong and okay. Although, the truth is that I do feel like that towards Troy," Sharpay looked away trying to blink back tears. "I'm just not sure if Troy feels that way about me."

Gabriella grabbed her best friend by the shoulders. "Shar, snap out of it. You and Troy are perfectly fine. I will talk to him, okay?"

"Thanks Gabs, you are the greatest." Sharpay gave her a big hug.

Gabriella quietly told her, "I'm always here for you." Gabriella's mind was made up; she had to get over Troy Bolton, and fast. She didn't want to cause her best friend anymore pain than she felt already. Working with Troy on this project would be the only contact she would have with him. She couldn't risk her friendship for a boy. Even if he made her weak in the knees just by staring at her with his blue eyes.

* * *

Troy felt like a jerk when he gave Sharpay the brush-off. He hadn't meant to, but her complaining was getting on his nerves. She called him last night to talk about their first day of school and all she did was go on and on about the project and how unfair it was that she was paired up with the new guy and he was paired up with Gabriella. It was enough to drive him crazy. He thought back about the conversation he had with Chad and Jason. Maybe Jason had a point; he should end things with Sharpay once and for all. But if he did that, would Gabriella Montez even want him?

It was true; Gabriella had turned down every guy at East High that asked her out. Maybe she was waiting for someone like him. _Yeah right,_ he thought bitterly. He would feel like an ass if he dumped Sharpay and was rejected by Gabriella. Even his ego couldn't take that.

Just then Gabriella took her seat next to him and sat facing the front of the classroom. "Gabriella?" He asked.

He could see Gabriella take a deep breath and then faced him. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?" Troy wondered.

"I'm fine. Maybe you should worry about someone else." Gabriella told him.

"What are you talking about?" Troy asked.

"Why are you treating my best friend like crap?" Gabriella asked, giving him a disgusted look.

Before Troy could respond, the bell rang and they watched as a plump, dark haired woman greeted them at the front of the classroom. "Greetings to all of you. My name is Mrs. Bishop and I will be your Family Living teacher. I'm so excited that the school district finally agreed to fund this project. It's so important and I believe helps young adults like you learn about responsibilities."

The class let out a little chuckle at the mention of responsibilities. "But Mrs. B., I'm already a responsible young adult." Chad spoke out.

Mrs. Bishop gave him a curt smile. "What is your name young man?"

"Chad Danforth." Chad said, grimacing as she gave him a look.

"Well, Mr. Danforth, in this classroom when you want to speak, you will raise your hand. Understood?"

"Er, yes, ma'am." Chad said, his face turning bright red.

Mrs. Bishop turned back to the class and gave them a smile. "Yesterday, Ms. Darbus showed you the babies. You will be required to carry these babies around with you for the next two weeks. Please be warned, that at any given moment, the babies will cry and you must tend to the baby. Each baby comes equipped with a monitor that will register how fast you respond. Now, will one person from each pair come and collect your baby or babies."

Troy turned to Gabriella, "I'll get the baby." He walked up and retrieved their doll. He brought the doll back and placed it on top of his desk.

"Tsk, tsk." Mrs. Bishop called out to the class. "I see that many of you are placing your baby on your desk and we do not want to do that. You must hold your baby like this." Mrs. Bishop demonstrated cradling the baby in her arms.

Troy took the doll off and placed it in his arms. He felt extremely ridiculous and uncomfortable. He looked over at Gabriella; it looked like she was ignoring him because she wasn't looking his way. "Hey Gabriella," he called to her.

Gabriella sighed. "Yes, Troy?" She asked resignedly as she turned to face him.

He smiled. "How do I look with baby TJ in my arms?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

He knew that would work. Gabriella couldn't help but giggle a little bit. "You look like a natural."

Mrs. Bishop interrupted them with another announcement. "Like I said class, you will be expected to carry these babies with you over the next two and a half weeks. You and your partner can make arrangements to see who gets custody of the baby and all, but everyone is expected to keep the baby for the equal amount of time. You must never let the baby out of your sight. You will be expected to keep a journal on this." The class groaned at the mention of keeping a journal. Mrs. Bishop ignored them and went on. "You will also look at your packets and learn how to budget as a family with the income you have been designated. You will have to consider if the income you have can support your family for a month. Alright, I will leave you all to look over your packets. I will walk around the room and if you have questions, feel free to ask."

Troy turned back to Gabriella. "So, Gabriella, how do you want to share custody of TJ?"

Gabriella shrugged. "I don't know, maybe we each take him for two days at a time. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like a plan." Troy told her. "Do you want to start taking care of the baby?"

"Not really." She said with a smile. "Since you're so comfortable with TJ, you can hold on to him."

"That's fine. " Troy told her. "That means on Saturday, it'll be your turn with the baby. How do we do the switch off?"

Gabriella shook her head. "Actually, you can give me TJ Friday after school."

"But today doesn't count." Troy told her.

"It doesn't?" Gabriella asked, giving Troy a curious look.

"Not really since it's almost towards the middle of the day. So, I'll take TJ tomorrow and Friday. You can get him Saturday. So how about it partner? Do you want to meet somewhere to pick him up? Or I can always drop by your house? Or we could always meet for breakfast?" Troy asked.

Gabriella looked at the eagerness in Troy's face. Was he actually trying to ask her out? _The nerve of him!_ she thought. "Why don't you just give the baby to Sharpay and she'll give him to me."

Troy was crushed. "Are you sure? I'm not sure if I'm going to see Sharpay this weekend."

"Why not?" Gabriella asked him quickly.

"I'm hanging out with the guys Friday night and we don't have a date or anything planned." Troy told her.

"I'm sure you'll see Sharpay after school on Friday. Just give TJ to her then and she'll give him to me." Gabriella said.

"You know I can't do that." Troy said with a mischievous smirk.

Gabriella sighed. "And why not?"

"Because it's _our _baby. Mrs. Bishop would not be pleased if I handed him off to someone else to give him to you. Remember what she said? I must never let the baby out of my sight." Troy gave her a smile.

Gabriella sighed again, this time giving him an annoyed look. "Fine. Why don't we meet for breakfast and I can take TJ from you after we eat?"

"You mean it?" Troy asked, giving her a big smile.

"Sure," Gabriella told him. "Let's meet at IHOP at 9:00 am. Sound good?"

"It's a date then." Troy told her.

Gabriella gave Troy a look and shook her head. "Please don't say that."

Troy felt embarrassed. "Oh, you know what I mean. I didn't mean a date. I meant a date, like an appointment." He told her lamely.

"Seriously Troy," she asked him. "What's going on here?"

"What do you mean?" He asked her.

"Don't play innocent with me." Gabriella told him. "Sharpay tells me that you've been acting weird towards her since the night of your party. And, I don't want to sound presumptuous or anything, but I know I saw you staring at me that night. What's up with that?"

Troy looked at Gabriella with a stunned expression. _Damn, _he thought, _this girl's bold._ "Nothing's going on." He sputtered out. "Scouts honor." Gabriella narrowed her eyes at him. "Honestly, nothing's going on. And I wasn't staring at you, if you want to know the truth."

"Are you sure?" Gabriella asked, her face softening up, looking relieved.

"I just have a lot on my mind these days." Troy told her. "Trust me, nothing is up."

"So, you and Shar are cool then?" Gabriella asked.

"Whoever said we weren't." Troy said, trying to remain upbeat.

"Good, because I don't want to see my best friend hurt. You understand?" Gabriella asked him.

"Understood." Troy told her bitterly.

"Okay," Gabriella said giving him a big smile. "Should we look over our packet now?"

"Sure," Troy muttered as Gabriella took the packet from him and started looking through the papers. Troy couldn't help but feel like an idiot. Gabriella had given him the chance to tell her how he felt and he blew it. He should've just told her the truth. Now, he had to pretend that he didn't like her and continue being Sharpay's boyfriend. Troy was determined not to let that happen much longer. Sooner or later, he was going to end things with Sharpay and despite what Chad and Jason said, he was going to go after Gabriella. He would tell her how he felt during breakfast on Saturday. They would be away from the school and it would be just him and Gabriella. He couldn't help but smile as he repeated her name in his head. _This is how it's supposed to feel when you like someone, _he thought. He just hoped Gabriella felt the same way he did.

* * *

**A/N: The title of this chapter is "Over My Head" by The Fray. **

**Hope you're enjoying this fanfic. I am taking a totally different approach with writing this one. I haven't really planned what's supposed to happen. I just sit at the computer, start typing and this is the outcome. Hope you like it!**


	6. Bad Day

**CHAPTER SIX: BAD DAY**

Troy was excited as he pulled into the IHOP parking lot. Even though he knew they were meeting for breakfast solely for the project, he was still happy that he would get to spend some time alone with Gabriella. Over the last two days, it seemed as if she was avoiding him. The only time she talked to him was in Family Living class. Other than that, she didn't really look at him or speak to him when the group had lunch together or in between classes. He didn't understand why she was avoiding him. He just hoped that he hadn't made her feel uncomfortable or anything. He thought he had done a pretty good job of pretending that he didn't like her.

Troy grabbed TJ from the backseat of his car. Each pair had been given car seats for their babies. Troy took the car seat out of the car so that he could give it to Gabriella. He carried the car seat as he made his way into IHOP. He went to the host stand and was about to add his name to the list when he saw Gabriella wave to him from a booth. Troy smiled at her and made his way over. A few older women gave him a look as they eyed the baby seat in his hand and gazed at the doll inside it. This was the general reaction they were all receiving the past few days. Some people understood it was a school project, others thought they were out of their minds.

"Hi Gabriella," Troy greeted Gabriella, but as he neared the booth, he realized that Gabriella wasn't alone. Sitting across from her was Sharpay. Troy's spirits plummeted.

"Hey Troy," Gabriella said. "I hope it's okay that I invited Shar to join us."

"Of course," Troy exclaimed. "Hi Sharpay," he leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, much to Sharpay's disappointment.

"What kind of a greeting is that?" Sharpay grabbed Troy's face in her hands and gave him a kiss on the lips. "See, this is more like it. Besides, I missed you last night."

Troy felt uncomfortable and pulled away from Sharpay's arms. "I had to hang out with the guys, you know that." He avoided Sharpay's glare. "So, who's hungry?" He said with a laugh as he took the seat next to Sharpay, at least this way, Gabriella was across from him.

Gabriella gave a small smile. "I'm pretty hungry," she said. "But we're waiting for one more person."

"Who?" Troy asked.

"Zeke." Sharpay answered. "I figured I'd be a good partner and introduce him to my two favorite people in the world. Besides, he'd be perfect for Gabriella."

"Really?" Troy asked with a snort.

Gabriella laughed and shook her head at Sharpay. "Your girlfriend is relentless, you know. I told her I wasn't interested."

"And why not?" Sharpay asked. "After working with him the past few days, I've come to the conclusion that he's actually pretty cool and he's funny. Not to mention cute."

"What? Cute?" Troy exclaimed.

"Sorry, baby," Sharpay said. "But he's cute." As she noticed Troy's expression, she leaned over, "Aw, don't be jealous. You know that you're the only one for me."

Troy shook his head. "Don't worry Shar, I'm not jealous. It's cool. I look forward to meeting Zeke."

Sharpay pouted. This wasn't the reaction she wanted. But Troy couldn't help but feel jealous as he thought about Gabriella going out with Zeke. He would have to interfere if it ever got to that point.

Sharpay's cell phone beeped indicating she had a text message. She checked and smiled. "Zeke just pulled into the lot. I'll go meet him by the doors." Troy scooted out of the booth to let Sharpay out. He smiled as he realized it left him alone with Gabriella for a few minutes.

"So, Montez, how come you didn't warn me that Sharpay and Zeke would be joining us?" Troy asked, looking into her beautiful brown eyes.

"I don't know. I was talking to Shar last night and she was sad that you guys hadn't made plans this weekend. I told her I was meeting you for breakfast and then she sort of asked if she could join us. I didn't think it'd be a big deal. She is your girlfriend after all." Gabriella told him.

Troy continued looking at Gabriella. He'd always thought she was pretty, but sitting this close and across from her, he couldn't help but think that pretty was the wrong word to describe her. She was beautiful. Her long dark curly hair was up in a high pony tail accentuating her cheek bones and making her brown eyes lively. Troy blushed as he realized he was staring at her and completely forgot what she said. "It's cool." He told her. He hoped that answer would suffice.

Gabriella gave him a look. "Troy, what's going on between you and Sharpay? Ever since Wednesday, I've noticed the way you've been treating her. I thought things were good between you."

"Things are fine." Troy said.

She gave him a hesitant look. "Are you sure? I'm not trying to interfere here or anything, but Sharpay is crazy about you. She'd be crushed if anything was wrong."

Troy knew this was where he should say something. This time, he didn't hold back. "What if there is something wrong?"

Gabriella shook her head. "What could be the problem?"

Troy looked at Gabriella and his voice softened as he said, "The problem is that I'm crazy about her best friend."

Gabriella's eyes widen. "You don't mean that. Please take it back."

Troy reached out and grabbed Gabriella's hand. "What if I don't?"

"Are you crazy?" Gabriella removed her hand from his. "You know this is absurd."

"What's absurd?" Sharpay asked as she joined them at the booth, with Zeke standing next to her.

"Oh, some rumor about Melanie Hartner." Gabriella said quickly.

Sharpay's eyes lit up. "Oh, do tell."

"How about later?" Gabriella asked.

"Fine. Have it your way." She playfully pouted, and then she smiled at them. "Troy, Gabs, I'd like you guys to officially meet Zeke Baylor. Zeke, this is Troy and Gabriella."

"Hey there," Zeke greeted as he took a seat next to Gabriella.

Troy observed that Gabriella looked extremely uncomfortable. She looked up and avoided Troy's gaze, instead she focused her attention on Zeke. "So, Zeke, how are you enjoying East High?" Gabriella said, giving him a big smile.

Troy felt jealous as he noticed Zeke smile back at Gabriella. "I'm starting to like it a lot more now that I've met you." Troy inwardly groaned as he heard Zeke's lame line. He knew Gabriella would never fall for a line like that.

He was wrong. Gabriella laughed at what Zeke said, and placed a hand on his arm. "How does Albuquerque compare to San Diego?" she asked, batting her eyes at him. Troy wasn't sure if this was really Gabriella doing these things or if it was just an act to forget what he had said to her.

"San Diego is a great city and I miss it terribly. But, what can you do? Albuquerque is definitely scenic. Other than that, it's a new city to get to know. Maybe you can show me around?" Zeke gave Gabriella another smile.

"Perhaps," Gabriella said.

Troy felt Sharpay nudge him. "Isn't it wonderful?" She whispered. "I think they're really hitting it off."

"Great," Troy muttered.

"I know! Right? Wait till they become East High's newest and hottest couple. They look great together." Sharpay went on, much to Troy's disdain.

"Great," Troy muttered again. He wasn't sure if he could sit here and watch Gabriella flirt with Zeke. He was sure just the sight of it would make him lose his appetite.

* * *

As Gabriella said good-bye to Sharpay and Zeke, she made her way to her jeep. Troy had insisted on helping her with the car seat, but she knew he only wanted the time alone with her. As much as she had enjoyed hearing Troy tell her he was crazy about her, it still didn't change the facts: Fact number one: Troy Bolton has a girlfriend. Fact number two: Troy Bolton is not available, and Fact number three: Troy Bolton's girlfriend was her very best friend! All these facts alone convinced Gabriella to give up on Troy. As hard as it was to do that, she knew she had to.

Gabriella unlocked the door and let Troy secure the car seat in the back. As soon as Troy was done, he stepped back from the jeep and gave her a small smile. Just seeing his smile made her weak in the knees. _This is going to be one hard crush to get over,_ she thought. "Thanks Troy," she started, "you know for bringing TJ to the car and for breakfast."

"Hey," he said, "despite the extra company, I had a good time."

"Me too," she agreed. "Well, I guess I'll see you on Monday." Gabriella gave Troy a small wave and opened her door to get in.

"That's it?" Troy asked.

Gabriella sighed. She was hoping they could forget their conversation earlier. "What do you want from me Troy?"

"I just want to know if you feel the same way." Troy told her, holding her gaze with his own.

"What difference does it make if I do or don't?" Gabriella asked.

"Because I don't think these feelings are one-sided. I think I know why you've been avoiding me. I think I know why you've turned down every guy that's asked you out." Troy said.

"Please Troy, let's just leave it alone." Gabriella pleaded.

"I can't, Gabriella." Troy looked at her. "I've been in denial for the last few months about Sharpay, and the truth is things aren't good. We don't have a connection. But you and me, something's here. I should've asked you out a long time ago."

Gabriella eyes shimmered with tears. "As wonderful as it is to hear this, you know that we can't be together. Sharpay's my best friend. I'm sorry Troy, but no guy is worth coming in between my friendship with her. Even if I'm crazy about you. I can't."

Troy walked towards Gabriella and stood right in front of her. "I get it that you're loyal to her, but what about your happiness Gabriella? You know you can't deny what's going on here."

"I can't do this. I'm sorry." Gabriella looked away from Troy.

Troy sighed and decided not to push Gabriella anymore. "Fine. I'll let it go for now, but I'm ending things with Sharpay. I can't pretend to be with her when I'm crazy about you."

"You can't do that!" Gabriella exclaimed. "Troy, please, just stay with Sharpay. You guys are great together."

"Even I know that's a lie," Troy whispered to her. "You can't stand to see me with Sharpay, can you?" Gabriella didn't respond, but she nodded her head. "Then why do you torture yourself? You can let yourself be happy."

Gabriella shook her head. "I'm sorry Troy, but I have to go."

Gabriella reached for her door, but was stopped as Troy wrapped one arm around her waist and brought her to him. With his free hand he placed it behind her neck and brought her face to his. Troy looked into her eyes. "I'm crazy about you and I've wanted to do this for the last few days." Before she could react, Troy pressed his lips against hers. His lips were soft against hers and before she knew it, she was kissing him back eagerly. She had always imagined what it would be like to be in Troy's arm, but the true experience was beyond what she had thought.

A car horn broke their embrace. Gabriella gave the driver a sheepish grin. It seemed that the driver wanted her parking spot. She turned to Troy, breathless from the kiss. "This was really special, Troy," she told him. "But I can't be with you. Now, I really have to go." Gabriella got into her jeep, gave Troy one last look, and backed her jeep out. As she turned out of the parking lot, her vision blurred as the tears broke free. It wasn't fair at all; the one boy she liked at East High admitted that he was crazy about her. There was only one thing to do and it involved moving on from Troy. There was no way she was letting Troy Bolton come between her friendship with Sharpay.

* * *

**A/N: The title of this chapter is "Bad Day" a song by Daniel Powter. **

**I wasn't sure if this was how I wanted the story to go, so please let me know what you think. I was going to wait for another chapter or two before Troy's feelings for Gabi came out, but I like how this went. **


	7. Enough For Now

**CHAPTER SEVEN: ENOUGH FOR NOW**

Gabriella was still baffled by the events that happened earlier that morning. Troy Bolton had told her he was crazy about her. He _liked _her. _But I can't do anything about it_, Gabriella thought sadly. She had meant it when she told Troy that she couldn't be with him even if he broke up with Sharpay. She would just feel like the worst friend in the world. She knew in her heart she couldn't risk that, even if she was forsaking her own happiness. She smiled as she thought about their kiss. It had made her weak in the knees for sure. It was the perfect first kiss between two people.

"Um, Gabriella, can you go and ring up those people for me? I don't think I can deal with hyperactive cutesy teenagers!" Gabriella was startled as she realized her co-worker, Susan, was talking to her.

"Sorry, Suze," Gabriella told her giving her a smirk. "Sure, I'll go ring up those hyper cutesy teens. Maybe I should take offense since I'm a teen myself."

Susan looked at Gabriella. "You are way beyond the cutesy teen stage. I can handle you perfectly fine. Besides, you're more mature than half the people my age."

Gabriella laughed. "Thanks Suze." Two nights a week and every other Saturday night, Gabriella worked at Sweet Sophisticates, a popular clothing store frequented by both teens and adults. The clothes were fashionable and cute, not to mention affordable. Gabriella loved working at Sweet Sophisticates and enjoyed working with Susan, who was usually always on the same shifts as she was. Susan was in her second year at U of Albuquerque. They instantly bonded over folding shirts and talking about Colleen, their super bitchy manager.

Gabriella made her way over to the register and smiled as she recognized the familiar blonde waiting. "Hey Sharpay!"

Sharpay gave Gabriella a huge smile. "Hey Gabs," then she looked Gabriella up and down, "cute outfit. Those boots are killer."

"You think? My feet are in pain! But what's beauty without a little pain, right?" Gabriella laughed and glanced down at her feet. She had to agree that the black suede knee high boots looked great on her, but they were making her feet ache a lot. "So, how's the rest of your Saturday going?"

Sharpay smiled, her hazel eyes twinkling. "Just perfect."

"Really? And why is that?" Gabriella asked.

"Troy and I are on a date." Sharpay squealed, reaching out and squeezing Gabriella's hand.

Gabriella could feel her mood deflate. She forced a smile on her face. "Isn't that great? Where's Troy?"

"He went to the bathroom. He said he'd meet me right here." Sharpay told her.

Before Gabriella could reply, she saw Troy walk into the store. Troy noticed that she was looking at him and he gave her a small smile. Troy looked extremely cute that night wearing a dark grey v-neck sweater over faded jeans. Even across the store, she could see his blue eyes sparkling. _Snap out of it!_ Gabriella thought to herself. Looking at Sharpay, she nodded in Troy's direction. "Speak of the devil, there he is now."

Sharpay's smile widened as Troy joined them at the counter. Sharpay slipped her hand into Troy's. Troy looked uncomfortable as he looked at Gabriella. Troy cleared his throat. "Hi Gabriella," he said.

Gabriella gave him a small smile. "Hi Troy." Then she gestured towards Sharpay. "So, what are you guys doing for your date? The mall is at your leisure. You guys should be out there, not visiting me at work."

"But we wanted to come by and say hi. Besides, I want to see TJ." Troy said.

"Unfortunately, TJ is not here with me. My mom's watching him. She loves the idea of this project. You should hear her calling him her grandson. It's hilarious." Gabriella said laughing. "Anyway, what are you guys doing for your date?"

"We're going to catch the 9:30 showing of that new horror movie." Sharpay answered, leaning into Troy.

Gabriella eyes widened. "Not _Wicked Species_, is it?"

"The exact one." Troy smiled. "Why, you want to see it?"

"Of course. I hear the special effects are terrific." Gabriella said excitedly.

Sharpay frowned at Gabriella. "Gabs, I thought you didn't like horror movies?"

Gabriella shrugged. "I just can't handle watching them alone. But it'd be fun with friends."

"Well, Gabriella," Troy said, giving her a pleading look behind Sharpay's back. "What time are you off work?"

"We close at 10." Gabriella answered quickly..

"Shar, we could always go to the 10:20 show instead? Gabriella can join us when she's done." Troy suggested.

Gabriella knew Sharpay would not like that idea. "But I really want it to be just us, Troy. We haven't spent anytime alone since school started." Sharpay pouted and looked up at Troy with puppy dog eyes.

_Give me a barf bag_, Gabriella thought, then she shook her head to get the terrible thoughts out of her head. Gabriella decided to make it easy for all of them. "Sharpay's right. You guys need to have some time alone. Besides, I'm pretty tired anyway. Thanks for the invite though," she said, sneaking a glance at Troy, trying to look natural.

Troy had a disappointed look on his face. "Oh well, I guess next time, then?"

"Sure." Gabriella said quietly. "Anyway, I better get back to work. You both have a great time tonight."

"See ya," Sharpay said as she took Troy's hand and led him away.

"Bye Gabriella," Troy told her quietly.

"See you both on Monday." Gabriella called after them. She tried not to watch them, but she couldn't help it. Just as they were about to leave the store, Troy turned his head back at her. He gave her a sad smile and all Gabriella could do was shrug her shoulders. "I'm sorry," she mouthed to him. And then they were both gone.

"Who was _that_?" Susan asked, coming up beside Gabriella, startling her.

"Who?" Gabriella asked, pretending not to know who Susan was referring to.

"Um, that gorgeous guy that just walked out of here with that blonde." Susan said, rolling her eyes at Gabriella. "Who else?"

"That's Troy. He's my best friend's boyfriend, the blonde you just saw."

"What?" Susan exclaimed. "If he's her so-called boyfriend, then why has he been making eyes at you the whole time?"

Gabriella blushed. "What are you talking about?"

"He was so looking at you the whole time you guys were talking and just now when they walked out of here." Susan told her.

Gabriella shook her head. "I think you're imagining things, Suze. They've been dating for almost a year. They're like _the_ couple that everyone wants to be. There's no way he was making eyes at me, as you suggested."

"Deny it all you want, Gabriella, but I know what I saw."

Gabriella shook her head at Susan, "Believe whatever you want to, but there's no way Troy Bolton was looking at me?"

Susan looked at Gabriella and studied her. "You know what, the more you deny it, I think you like him."

"What?" Gabriella exclaimed, feeling a blush rise to her cheeks. "I don't think so."

"Hmmm." Susan cocked her head to the side, "Fine, I'll let it go for now."

"Thank you. Now I'm going to go and fold some shirts. You take the register." Gabriella made a beeline for the cashmere sweater display. She grabbed the first sweater and started folding it. She really needed to come up with a better way to divert any Troy questions. She blushed way too easily at the mention of him. She shook her head and tried to forget him. Besides it seemed as if Troy might try to make things work with Sharpay. Hadn't he told her he was going to break up with Sharpay? She just hoped that Troy wouldn't do anything rash and think things through. He had to stay with Sharpay. He just had to for both their sake.

* * *

Troy had been disappointed that Gabriella hadn't joined them for the movie. He would've loved to see her reaction to the squeamish and scary parts. Would she have grabbed his arm? Or bury her face into his chest? Troy frowned; instead it was Sharpay that had done all that stuff. They were heading back to his car so he could take Sharpay home. He knew he should've just broken up with Sharpay earlier that day, but when he tried to, he lost his nerve and instead agreed to make plans that night. Once Sharpay mentioned going to the movies and stopping by Gabriella's work, he quickly agreed with the idea. He couldn't help himself; he wanted to see more of Gabriella.

He inwardly groaned as he felt Sharpay grab his arm and leaned her head against him. The past few days Sharpay had been really affectionate always wanting to hold his hand or grabbing his arm. He usually didn't have a problem with that, but it was kind of getting on his nerves. He knew she was going to be upset when he ended things, but he had to. They finally reached his car and Troy unlocked the doors. They both slid into the car. Troy was about to start the car up when he turned to Sharpay and said "Sharpay, we need to talk."

Sharpay gave him a big smile. She reached over and ran her fingers up and down his right arm. "No, we don't. Come here," she motioned with her head.

Troy grimaced. "No Sharpay, we need to talk. Now." He moved his arm away from her and placed it on the steering wheel.

Sharpay pouted as she looked at Troy. "What do you want to talk about?"

Troy cleared his throat and looked at her face. "Sharpay, we need to break up." Troy felt relief as he said the words.

Sharpay's gave him a confused look. "What?" She exclaimed. "Are you serious?"

Troy nodded. "Sorry, but yes, we need to. I just don't think there a connection here anymore. There hasn't been one for a while."

Sharpay was silent as Troy heard her crying. He felt awful, making her cry was the last thing he wanted to do. "But Troy," she said quietly. "I love you."

Troy was stunned as he heard those words come out of her mouth. He liked Sharpay and they had fun together, but he never felt that way. Troy gave her a shrug. "I'm sorry Sharpay, but that doesn't change the way I feel. I should've ended things a few months ago. I'm sorry if I kept you in this relationship longer than I have."

Sharpay reached in her purse for a tissue. She was dabbing at her eyes. "Is it me?" She cried out.

Troy reached out and patted her shoulder. "It's not you, it's me." He knew it was one of the lamest lines that everyone used in a break up. "It's our last year of school and I need to focus on the future. I don't want to be," Troy gulped, hating the next words he was going to say, "tied down. I want to have fun during my senior year."

This just made Sharpay cry some more. "But we always have fun together. We could still have fun."

Troy shook his head. "We can't be together anymore. I'm sorry."

"But Troy," Sharpay cried, "You can't do this to us. Please, please, please, let's just forget this conversation and move on."

"Sharpay," Troy said firmly. "It's over. Now, I'm going to take you home. I'm sorry it had to happen this way, but I had to be honest with my feelings."

Sharpay didn't say anything and buried her face into her hands. _Great_, he thought,_ just make the girl cry, why don't you? _Although Troy was glad that he finally told Sharpay the truth, he still felt awful that she was crying. And the fact that she told him she loved him, it was all too much.

The rest of the car ride was silent except for Sharpay's sniffles. Troy pulled into Sharpay's driveway. Sharpay didn't move. Troy waited patiently for her. Sharpay said something to him, which he couldn't quite hear.

"Excuse me?" Troy asked her,

"Is there someone else?" Sharpay said, annunciating each word clearly.

"No, there's no one else. I already told you I just want to be free and have fun." Troy told her, feeling awful for lying. But there was no way he was going to reveal that Gabriella was partly to blame for the break up.

"Are you sure?" Sharpay asked again.

Troy sighed. "Yes, Sharpay, I'm sure."

"Fine." Sharpay got out of the car and slammed his car door. Troy winced at the sound. Then she leaned down and peered at him through the window. Her usual perky smile was missing, replaced with mascara streaked cheeks and a fiery glaze in her eyes. "You know you're making a mistake." She confidently told him.

"And why is that?" Troy challenged.

"You're going to regret that we broke up. Just bet on it. Don't even think for a second that our friends will be loyal to you." Sharpay said frostily.

Now Troy knew more than ever that breaking up with Sharpay was one of the best things he'd ever done. He'd forgotten about this side of her – the conniving, mean-spirited way she could be once in a while. "You know, Sharpay, I was going to say that I hope we can still be friends, but you obviously don't want that. It's all good. I'm not going to make any of our friends choose between us."

Sharpay sneered. "We'll see about that." She told him giving him one last withering glance. Then she turned around and stalked towards the front doors of her house.

Troy breathed a huge sigh of relief. As much as he didn't want to believe what Sharpay had told him, he knew there would be some truth behind it. He could always count on Chad and Jason to stay his friends, but what about all of their mutual friends. Would Kelsi or Martha still talk to him? Would Taylor? And most importantly, would Gabriella? He knew that she would have to talk to him no matter what because they were stuck doing the project for the next two weeks, but once it was over, would she blow him off?

Sharpay had used the word loyal, which was what Gabriella kept telling him over and over that she intended to be loyal to Sharpay. He just hoped that he could convince Gabriella to consider giving them a chance. Gabriella could deny it all she wants, but he could tell that Gabriella was into him as well, especially when she kissed him back earlier that morning. Troy smiled as he thought about the kiss. It had been amazing. He definitely wanted to keep on kissing her if he could. He was debating on whether he should surprise Gabriella at this moment, but decided against it since it was almost 1:30 in the morning. He would just have to wait until Monday to see her.

* * *

**A/N: The title of this chapter is called "Enough For Now" a song by The Fray.**


	8. Somebody Told Me

**CHAPTER EIGHT: SOMEBODY TOLD ME**

Gabriella was kissing Troy Bolton and it felt amazing. His lips were soft against hers and she moaned as he ran his hand through her dark hair. She was so lost in their kiss that she didn't hear her phone ring.

Gabriella woke up with a start as she realized she had been dreaming. _Damn_, she thought, and then she looked at her alarm clock. Who was calling her at two in the morning? She grabbed her cell phone and saw Sharpay's photo come up on the caller ID. _This can't be good_, Gabriella thought as she answered. "Hello?"

"Gabs," Sharpay cried. "I know it's late and I probably woke you up but I really need to talk to you."

"It's okay. What's up?" Gabriella asked, stifling a yawn.

"Oh Gabs, tonight was horrible," Sharpay said, sniffling before she continued, "Troy dumped me!"

Gabriella's jaw dropped. She hadn't really thought Troy would really break up with Sharpay. "Oh my gosh, Shar, I am so sorry. I thought things were going well?"

"I'm just as surprised. I thought things were good, but apparently Troy doesn't want to be 'tied down' as he told me. He just wants to have fun senior year." Sharpay told her, crying in between words.

"I don't know what to say Shar. I feel awful, I really do." Gabriella said. It was true, what could she say? She had never been in a relationship before so she had no idea what to say to her friend to make her feel better. "Is there anything I can do?" Gabriella almost wished she could take those words back as soon as they came out.

"Yes, you can do something for me." Sharpay said, this time her voice was clear and she no longer sounded like she was crying.

"What do you want me to do?" Gabriella asked afraid of the answer.

"Since you and Troy are partners and you'll be working with him for the next two weeks, can you please ask him what the real reason is behind the break up?"

Gabriella sighed. "I don't know, Shar. I kind of feel uncomfortable doing that."

"Gabriella, you are my best friend!" Sharpay exclaimed. "Best friends do these things for each other. Please, you have to talk to Troy for me."

"But didn't Troy already tell you why he wanted to break up?" Gabriella asked.

"Ouch, Gabs! Yes he did, but I don't believe him. I think he likes someone else. And I so know he does because he was trying to deny it." Sharpay admitted to Gabriella.

"Sharpay, I know how much you care about Troy and all, but why don't you just give him a few days and then talk to him again yourself. You don't need me to interfere." Gabriella suggested.

"Yes you will!" Sharpay exclaimed. "I need to know the real reason behind our break up." This time Sharpay had resorted to her whiny voice.

Gabriella sighed. "Shar, are you sure you really want to know?" Of course, Gabriella felt like a jerk for asking Sharpay that when she knew she was the reason behind it. There was no way Sharpay would ever take the news of it well and Gabriella was never going to let her friend know. She would have to tell Troy to forget about her once and for all and move on. There was no way she was going to date Troy.

"Of course I want to know. If he likes someone else, I just wished he'd have the balls to tell me the truth." Sharpay said. "Besides, I kind of threatened Troy."

"What do you mean threatened?" Gabriella asked.

"I told Troy that he was making a big mistake breaking up with me and that all our friends would be on my side." Sharpay told her best friend proudly.

"Shar, why'd you do that?" Gabriella inquired. "I mean, it's not like Troy was mean or anything to you. You can't make our friends choose between you both."

"I don't care if he wasn't mean, but I know he's lying. And he may have dumped me, but I will not be the loser here. Someone always suffers in a break up and it won't be me." Sharpay told her friend matter-of-factly.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. This was the Sharpay that she couldn't stand sometimes. "I know you're hurt, but I do hope you consider being civilized towards Troy."

"Gabriella, why are you sticking up for Troy?" Sharpay asked angrily.

"I'm not sticking up for Troy," Gabriella said defensively. "I just don't want this to turn out into an outrageously dramatic soap opera. Yes, he broke up with you but it sounds like he was being sincere. And I know you're hurt and trying to be strong, but you don't have to resort to ruining Troy's life either. Just let it go."

"Are you calling me dramatic?" Sharpay demanded.

"Shar, you're my best friend and all and I love you like a sister, but yes, you can be dramatic. Case in point." Gabriella said with an exasperated tone.

Sharpay gasped. "Fine! Be on Troy's side. I'll call someone else who gives a damn!"

"Sharpay," Gabriella said in firm voice. "Please, just listen to—'' Before Gabriella could finish her sentence, Sharpay had hung up on her. _Fine, be that way_, she thought irritably. She had been a supportive friend, hadn't she? She felt awful for Sharpay. She knew how much Sharpay cared about Troy and she was sorry to hear that he broke up with her. And of course, she hated herself because she knew she was the reason behind it. But why did Troy have to kiss her this morning? He made things more complicated.

Gabriella smirked as her phone rang. It looked like Sharpay had come to her senses. "I'm glad you called back, otherwise you'll have a very pissed off best friend."

"Er, excuse me?" A male voice answered back.

Gabriella looked down at her cell phone. Troy's image flashed on her phone. Gabriella cleared her throat. "Hello?" She asked in a neutral tone.

"Gabriella?" Troy asked.

"Yes. Who is this?"

"It's Troy."

"Oh," Gabriella said. "Hi Troy. What's up?"

Troy gave a small laugh. "You tell me? I assume you've heard then?"

Gabriella didn't say anything for a second. There was no point in pretending she didn't know after the way she had answered the phone. "Of course I've heard."

"And what do you think?" Troy wanted to know.

"Oh, that it's the greatest thing to happen. I'm so overjoyed." Gabriella said sarcastically.

"You mean it?" Troy asked with hope in his voice, obviously not hearing the note of sarcasm in her voice.

"Of course I don't!" Gabriella exclaimed. "What do you think was going to happen, Troy? That I would run into your arms?"

Troy was quiet for a moment. "Yeah, I was sort of hoping."

Gabriella smiled at how sincere he sounded. "Troy, as wonderful it is to hear that, you know there's no way I can be with you."

"Why not?" Troy asked.

"Troy, we already went over this. You know very well why not. Sharpay's my best friend. If I go out with you, it would kill not only her, but our friendship. I can't do that to her."

"So what? You have to give up your happiness for her?" Troy challenged.

Gabriella sighed. "I'm not giving up anything here."

"Yes you are. Gabriella, I meant what I said in the parking lot today. There's something between us and we owe it to ourselves to give it a chance." Troy pleaded with her.

"Troy, you're not getting it. There will never be anything between us. Just understand that, okay?" Gabriella said sternly.

"But Gabriella," Troy started. "Why are you doing this? You know there's something between us."

"For the last time Troy, there is no _us._ Don't you get it? There never was and there never will be. Just move on. Pretend I don't exist. Just find someone else, okay?" Gabriella felt horrible as she said these words to Troy, but she had to make him forget her. It would only make it easier for her to move on if Troy wasn't crazy about her.

"You really are loyal, aren't you?" Troy asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that Sharpay was right. She told me our friends would be loyal to her because of the break up. Now, I'm starting to see what she means." Troy said bitterly.

"Troy," Gabriella said. "Please don't think like that. If I could be with you, I would in a heartbeat." She continued in a soft tone. "I just can't betray her like that."

"Fine. I'll stop asking you out for now, but I'm not giving up either." Troy said with confidence.

"Troy," Gabriella said in a warning tone.

"No, it's cool Gabriella. I get it. You're a good friend. You can say no to me today, but like I said, I'm not giving up. And I assure you I am not getting over you. There's only one girl at East High I want and it's you." Troy said.

Gabriella sighed. She knew when the battle was lost. "Fine, I won't argue with you anymore about this. But I am warning you, you can ask me out all you want, but my answer will always be the same. Trust me on that."

"At least tell me one thing." Troy said.

"What?"

"Are you as into me as I am into you?" Troy challenged her.

Gabriella thought about how to answer his question. "Well, Troy Bolton, there's only one guy at East High I want and you know who it is."

"I'm glad to hear that." Troy told her.

"Really?" Gabriella teased. "So, you're okay with the idea that Zeke Baylor asked me out."

"What?" Troy exclaimed. "You like Zeke?"

Gabriella giggled quietly. "No, I don't like Zeke. I was just messing with you. You know I was talking about you."

"Well, I'm happy to hear that. Anyway, I better let you go. I'm sorry I called so late. I just wanted to hear your voice." Troy said sweetly, making Gabriella like him even more.

"Good night Troy."

"Good night and sweet dreams, Gabriella."

After they hung up, Gabriella stared up at the ceiling. She was in a real dilemma for sure. She knew that no matter how much she denied it and turned Troy Bolton down; she would never be over him. He was her dream guy. She just hoped she was strong enough to resist Troy's charms, otherwise she was going to have a very pissed off best friend. No doubt about that.

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**A/N: The title of this chapter is called "Somebody Told Me" a song by The Killers.**


	9. What People Are Made Of

**CHAPTER NINE: WHAT PEOPLE ARE MADE OF**

As Gabriella walked into the front doors of East High, she let out a big yawn. Last night had been horrible. TJ had woken up at least two times in the middle of the night – once because he needed his diaper changed and the second time because he wanted to be fed. As much as she was enjoying this project, she was happy to be rid of TJ as soon as she got to homeroom. She just hoped Troy would be ready to take him. Then she groaned as she thought about Troy. She hadn't talked to him since Saturday night when he called her. She just hoped that Troy would stop trying to ask her out.

Gabriella made her way to her locker. She set TJ down on the floor. She opened her locker and took some books out of her bag. She was zipping up her backpack when she felt someone walk up behind her. "How's little TJ?" Gabriella gave a little smile as she recognized Troy's voice.

She stood up and faced him. "Last night was a horrid! TJ's got quite the mouth on him. Who knew that a little doll could be so lifelike?"

Troy cocked his head at her, looking irresistible as some of his hair fell into his eyes. Gabriella had the urge to reach out and push it off his forehead but she resisted. "Is that so?"

"Troy, it was terrible. TJ woke up twice in the middle of the night. I am so tired. If this is what it's like to have a baby, you can count on it that I will wait a long time before even thinking of have one." Gabriella said.

Troy smiled at Gabriella. "Oh, come on, I'm sure it wasn't that bad. TJ didn't make a peep once when I had him."

Gabriella scowled at Troy and playfully slapped him on the arm. "If this is your idea of trying to make me feel better, it's not!" Gabriella looked at Troy as he continued smiling at her, which was starting to make her feel a little uncomfortable. She didn't realize her hand was still laying on his arm. She quickly moved her hand away and ran it through her hair. "So, how was the rest of your weekend?"

"Not too shabby." Troy said. "I met up with Chad and Jason and we played some hoops. Nothing too exciting. How about you?"

"I didn't do too much yesterday. Just some homework and I looked over some college applications." Gabriella replied.

"Where are you thinking about applying?" Troy inquired.

"I have several schools in mind, but my top choice is Stanford University. My mom and I are going there in a few weeks to check out the campus."

Troy whistled. "Stanford? That's pretty impressive. I'm sure they'll accept you without a doubt."

"Thanks Troy." Gabriella smiled at him. "So, what about you? I'm sure you already have a spot at U of A without even trying."

Troy's smile faltered a bit at the mention of U of A. "I guess you can say that," he said slowly.

"What's wrong Troy? I thought U of A was your dream. Sharpay told me that they've been trying to recruit you since last year."

Troy shrugged and looked at the ground. "Let's just say that I have my own dreams."

"Fair enough." Gabriella told him. "I mean, it is your future and all, shouldn't you decide where you want to go? What would make you the happiest?"

Troy looked up and stared at Gabriella. "You're the first person to really listen to me, you know that."

Gabriella blushed and looked down. "I doubt it."

"No, seriously, Gabriella. I've been having second thoughts about U of A. But I know I can't say anything to Chad or Jason or my parents about it. They'd all freak out. Chad, Jason, and I are being courted by U of A as a triple threat for next year. I mean, how do you tell your best friends that you don't want to be a part of that?" Troy confided to her.

"I guess I wouldn't know what to do in your case either. But, why tell me any of this?"

"Because you listen. When I tried to talk to Sharpay about it, she told me I was wrong not to think about U of A. Everyone keeps telling me it's a wonderful opportunity, but the truth of the matter is that I'm interested in other schools and they're interested in me as well."

"I'll tell you what my mom always tells me to do." Gabriella said.

"What's that?"

"My mom always tells me to follow my heart. She says that our heart truly knows what it wants and we should always listen to it. It may not always lead us to the smartest decision, but as long as we've tried, it's all that matters." Gabriella said, noticing Troy give her a smirk. "What's with the smirk?"

"I was just going to say that your mom's a genius. I like what she says about following one's heart. What I want to know is how come you're not doing it?" Troy leaned close to her and said in barely above a whisper, "What does your heart tell you?"

Gabriella gulped. Being this close to Troy was making her nervous. She stepped back from Troy and forgot that the baby carrier was by her feet. There was no way she could break the fall so Gabriella closed her eyes and felt herself falling backwards and she was about to scream out when Troy grabbed her around the waist and brought her against his chest. Gabriella was breathing quickly and opened her eyes. She looked up into Troy's face. "Thank you, Troy."

He smiled down at her. "It's all good. I always love saving a damsel in distress."

"Ha ha." Gabriella said as she slapped his arm playfully again. Then she looked around the hallway and silently screamed. Just about everyone in their class had witnessed their interaction. Gabriella's eyes locked with Sharpay's. All she could do was shoot her friend an apologetic look. Sharpay rolled her eyes at Gabriella and gave her a menacing look and sauntered off towards homeroom followed by Martha and Kelsi who shot her mean looks. "This is just great," Gabriella muttered.

"What's great?" Troy asked.

"Troy, everyone just saw us." Gabriella said.

"And?" Troy inquired.

"Sharpay just saw me in your arms. So did everyone else!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"No, Gabriella, you're wrong. Yes, everyone saw us, but they saw me save you from falling. They can't make anything out of that. I would be an ass if I had let you fall." Troy told her. "Besides, who cares if people saw us? Let them think what they will."

"That's easy for you to say. You don't have to explain yourself to Sharpay." Gabriella told him. She reached down to pick up the carrier but Troy beat her to it.

"Let me carry him. Besides he's mine for the next two days." Troy told her. "Anyway, why do you care so much about what Sharpay thinks?"

"I just do, okay. I feel horrible that you guys broke up. She's hurt and instead of consoling her this morning, I'm at my locker having a conversation with you. And she witnessed it all. It would piss anyone off."

Troy shook his head. "I don't know Gabriella, this seems like a girl thing."

"Perhaps it is." Gabriella said sadly. "But I'm serious Troy. You need to back off a bit. I just don't want to be part of any rumors, okay?"

"What if I don't want to back off?" Troy replied back.

"If you care about me at all, then you will. For the time being, we can talk when we're in Family Living class, but other than that, just leave me alone, okay?" Gabriella said looking at Troy with sadness in her eyes.

"But Brie," Troy started. Then he looked at Gabriella, "Is it okay if I call you that? I know everyone calls you Gabs or Gabi, but I wanted my own nickname for you."

Gabriella sighed and gave Troy a sad smile. "Why do you have to be so sweet? You know you make it so much harder to resist you?" Then she nodded her head. "If you want to call me Brie, that's fine."

"Brie, you now that I can't promise you I'll do that." Troy told her.

"Will you try at least?" Gabriella asked, looking at him earnestly.

"Fine. If it means so much to you, I'll try and back off for the moment." Troy said resignedly. "I'm not thrilled about it, but I know how important your friendship is with Sharpay, so go deal with that. I'll take little TJ with me and I'll see you later in class."

Gabriella smiled widely at Troy. "Thanks Troy. And I'll see you around since we don't have class today. Take good care of TJ and good luck with him!" Gabriella gave Troy a small wave and walked down the hall towards Ms. Darbus' classroom. As soon as her back was towards Troy, Gabriella felt the smile on her face disappear. She knew she was in trouble with Sharpay. How was she going to get out of this one? Once Sharpay had her mind set on something, it was hard to convince her otherwise. Gabriella just hoped that Sharpay was in a forgiving mood once she saw her. _I doubt it,_ Gabriella thought sadly as she reached homeroom. _Here goes_, she thought as she walked into the room..

She spotted Sharpay sitting at her desk with Taylor, Martha, and Kelsi surrounding her. Gabriella made her way over to them. Kelsi noticed her and elbowed Martha, who in turn elbowed Sharpay. They all pretended to be in deep conversation and ignored her. Taylor was the only one who looked at Gabriella and shrugged her shoulders and gave her an apologetic smile. Gabriella didn't care for this display and made her way to Sharpay's desk. "Hey Sharpay," she started.

Sharpay was giggling at something Martha was saying and looked at Gabriella with a mean look. "Oh, it's _you_."

"Shar? What the hell?" Gabriella asked, clearly getting annoyed at the way Sharpay was treating her.

"I don't talk to people who fraternize with the enemy." Sharpay said snottily.

"Are you listening to yourself? Fraternize with the enemy? Give me a break, Sharpay!" Gabriella exclaimed. "You seriously have taken this too far."

"Gabriella, best friends stick with each other no matter what. I needed you the other night and all you did was defend Troy." Sharpay complained.

"Excuse me, Sharpay, I would've been there for you if you hadn't hung up on me. What the hell was up with that?" Gabriella knew her voice was getting louder and she was drawing the class into their conversation.

"You weren't being a good friend." Sharpay said, glaring at her.

"You know what, despite what you want to think, I've been nothing but a good friend to you. If you don't want to believe it, then fine. I'm not going to stand here and try to justify myself to you." Gabriella told Sharpay shaking her head at her.

"If you're such a good friend as you claim to be, then what were you doing in Troy's arms this morning? Why were you so friendly with him?" Sharpay challenged crossing her arms over her chest.

"Shar, I almost fell backwards in the hall earlier. Troy did nothing but save me. And perhaps I was friendly to Troy because he's my friend and my partner for this class project. Seriously, stop trying to make an issue out of it. I'm done here." Gabriella threw Sharpay one last look and rolled her eyes and made her way over to her desk. She was irritated by now. How could Sharpay treat her this way in front of everyone? And how dare she accuse her of being a bad friend? Gabriella had been nothing but supportive since their break up. She had resisted Troy's charms, hadn't she?

Gabriella stared at the top of her desk as the bell ring signaling the start of homeroom. She didn't want to look up and make eye contact with any of her classmates. She was too upset and annoyed at the moment. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to talk to Sharpay for awhile. Maybe it was better that they kept their distance from each other. They both needed to cool off before talking again.

Gabriella pretended to listen as Ms. Darbus told them about the school's announcements. She was concentrating so hard on one particular spot on her desk that she didn't notice the folded square of paper on her desk. Gabriella looked up to see who had tossed it. She stared at the back of everyone's head and noticed Jason to her left. He smiled and nodded his head toward the front. Gabriella looked down his row to the back of Troy's head. _I should've known,_ she thought. Eager to see what the note was about, Gabriella slid it under the desk to unfold it. She smiled as she read:

_Brie – Meet me at stairwell F at the start of free period. ~ T_

Stairwell F? Gabriella thought. She was pretty sure it was the stairwell that led to the school's rooftop. And she was pretty sure all students were banned from using the stairwell. She wasn't sure if she should be doing this, she didn't want to get in trouble or anything. But after everything that happened with Sharpay, she knew there was only one thing to do. She would take her mother's advice and follow her heart. And her heart was telling her that she needed to meet Troy at free period. Gabriella smiled as she closed the note and slipped it inside her pocket.

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**A/N: The title of this chapter is called "What People Are Made Of" by Modest Mouse**


	10. Stay Away

**Hi Readers! Sorry it's been awhile since I posted. I've been extremely busy at work and haven't had much of a chance to write. Here's the next installment of AEBT. I hope you enjoy it. I'll try to update very soon!**

**P.S. If there are any "Greek" fans out there - I will be writing a fanfic soon for Greek featuring my fave TV couple - Casey and Cappie. :D Be on the lookout for it.**

**~Dee**

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CHAPTER TEN: STAY AWAY

At the start of free period, Gabriella made her way through the crowded hall towards stairwell F. After homeroom ended, she had walked out of their before anyone else did. As she made her way towards stairwell F, she noticed other students giving her a look as they passed her. _Great,_ Gabriella thought, _just what I needed. _She was sure by now most of the student body probably knew about Troy and Sharpay's break up. They probably also heard about her and Sharpay's argument in homeroom. If there was one thing Gabriella disliked more than anything, it was being the subject of gossip.

Gabriella tried to look around for Troy. Where could he be? He had told her to meet at stairwell F during free period, hadn't he? Besides, what was she doing here anyway? Why had she agreed to meet him? She knew this wasn't the best decision in the world. If Sharpay heard about it, she'd be in big trouble. _I should really leave,_ Gabriella thought. She decided to wait a couple of more minutes. By now, the halls were emptying a bit. She didn't really want to be in the halls when the bell rang. She looked at her watch, in about 20 seconds the bell would ring. Gabriella decided there was nothing left to do but leave the area. She was about to head in the direction of cafeteria when she heard the door behind her open.

"Psst," a voice hissed to her.

Gabriella turned and her eyes widened. Troy was standing behind the doors with a big grin on his face. "Troy!" Gabriella shrieked. "You scared me."

"Shhhh." Troy told her. "Get behind the door and quickly."

Gabriella looked behind her and saw there was no one around. She slid inside the door and smiled at Troy. "For a second there I thought you forgot about our meeting."

Troy gave her a warm smile. "Like I would forget to meet you? I've been looking forward to it all morning."

Gabriella could feel herself blushing. "Where's TJ?" She asked changing the subject.

Troy smiled. "TJ is napping right now. I'll lead you to him." He nodded towards the stairs that lead up to another door. "After you."

"Should I be scared?" Gabriella teased. "Where in the world are you taking me?"

"You'll find out. Besides the gym, this is my favorite place in all of East High. You'll see why."

Gabriella made her way up the stairs, and as she reached the top she pushed the door opened and gasped as she realized they were on the school rooftop. Not only that, but the rooftop was home to a beautiful garden complete with a gazebo. Flowers bloomed everywhere. "Troy, this is amazing."

"Isn't it? This is my secret place. And I'm sharing it with you." He said, giving her a look.

Gabriella knew she was blushing again. "So, no one knows about this place?"

"No one. Just you and me."

Gabriella smiled. "I feel so honored."

"You should be." Troy teased. "I wasn't sure if you'd be crazy about the idea or not."

"Why wouldn't I be? This place is remarkable." Gabriella took in the view once more and admired the hydrangeas and roses in shades of blue, purples, orange, red, yellow, and pink.

Troy broke the stem of a yellow rose and brought it over to her. "For you," Troy told her.

Gabriella took the rose from him and sniffed it. "Thank you." She said barely above a whisper.

Troy looked her in the eyes. "I was told that a yellow rose represents joy and friendship. And I feel a lot of that with you Brie. I just hope that this friendship can turn into something more."

Gabriella looked away from Troy. "I'm really enjoying our friendship, too."

Troy took Gabriella's chin in his hand and made her face him. "Don't you want something more?"

Gabriella gulped and slowly nodded her head. Troy gave her a big smile and leaned his head down to hers. She could feel his lips near hers and she closed her eyes ready for the kiss.

"WAAAAAAAH!" Troy and Gabriella both jumped apart as TJ cried in his carrier.

"Damn," Troy muttered as he made his way over to check on the doll.

Gabriella took the time apart from Troy to take a few deep breaths. TJ's crying brought her back to reality. She couldn't believe that she almost let Troy kiss her again. There was no way she could let whatever was happening with Troy continue. She had to put a stop to it. From this point on, she needed to be in control of the situation. Even though she and Sharpay had gotten into an argument earlier, she still valued her friendship. She couldn't let Troy come between them. Gabriella scolded herself for almost letting it happen.

Gabriella took a seat on the bench under the gazebo. It wasn't long before Troy joined her again. He gave her a big grin. "So, Gabriella, where were we?" He leaned towards her.

Gabriella put up her hands to stop Troy and gave him a sad smile. "Troy, I can't do this."

"What do you mean?"

"_This._" She emphasized gesturing between the two of them. "Whatever this is, I can't do it. I'm sorry."

"But I thought you wanted to be with me."

Gabriella reached out and patted Troy on the arm. "Troy, you know that I'd love that more than anything, but it's too soon for anything to happen. You just broke up with Sharpay. I have to stop myself from really falling for you. I don't want to hurt her."

Troy looked away from her and stared out ahead of him. "What about the way she treated you this morning?"

"What about it? Sharpay is obviously hurt from your break up and she's not thinking rationally. Neither am I for that matter. I need to be there for her and I can't do that if I'm here with you. I'm sorry, Troy."

Troy continued looking ahead of him; he didn't want Gabriella to see how hurt he was. "So, I can't make you change your mind?"

"Sorry Troy. My mind's made up. I need to go find Sharpay and be there for her. I hope we can still be friends."

"Sure," Troy said sullenly. "Friends."

Gabriella stood up and looked at Troy. "Thanks for showing me your secret place. I promise to keep it to myself. Anyway, catch you later."

"See ya," Troy said glumly as he watched Gabriella leave the rooftop. _I'm such an idiot,_ he thought. He had tried not to scare her away but he knew he had come on too strong and too quickly. He knew he should've been more careful about his feelings for her. But he couldn't help it; he was crazy about Gabriella Montez. The only thing he needed to do was back off for the time being. He would give Gabriella some space and time. Hopefully with a little time and patience, he would get what he wants. _I sure hope so_, Troy thought.

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Gabriella made her way towards the music room. She knew her friends had to be there. She was trying to think of what to say to Sharpay when she reached the entrance. She saw Sharpay sitting on the piano bench with Kelsi, Martha and Taylor sat across from them in a couple of folding chairs. Gabriella knocked gently on the wall to get their attention.

Sharpay turned around and her smile faded. "Oh, it's you."

Gabriella ignored the remark and made her way over to her best friend. "Sharpay, enough of this. I should've been there for you this morning. I'm sorry, okay?"

Sharpay looked up at Gabriella. "You mean it?"

"Of course! But you caught me off guard with some of your comments. I really didn't appreciate them either. But, I know you don't mean it."

Sharpay stood up and threw her arms around Gabriella. "Oh Gabs, I'm so sorry! I was a jerk to you. I should've never hung up on you the other night. I'm also sorry about the way I treated you this morning."

"Forget about it. I want you to know that I'm here for you, okay?"

Sharpay smiled at her best friend. "I knew you'd be there for me."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "You truly are a drama queen, you know that?"

Sharpay stuck her tongue out and laughed. "Ha ha. Anyway, the girls and I are looking at some photos from over the summer."

Gabriella turned to their other friends and smiled at them. Martha and Kelsi gave her apologetic smiles and Gabriella simply nodded at them. She knew they hadn't meant to be mean to her, they were just being loyal friends to Sharpay.

Martha grabbed one of the photos and reached it towards Gabriella. "We were just talking about how beautiful you look in this one."

Gabriella took the photo and looked at it. She smiled as she remembered where the photo was taken. The gang had met up at Lava Springs, Sharpay's family's country club, for the 4th of July. They had hung out by the pool, ate burgers and hot dogs, had a water balloon fight, and watched the fireworks together. It had been an amazing day and night. In the photo, Gabriella was looking upward at the sky as the fireworks exploded around them. She felt herself blush as she agreed that she looked pretty in the photo. Her long dark hair fell in curls around her shoulders, her lashes elongated as her head was tilted backwards looking up at the sky, and her lips and cheeks were a natural rose color. "Thanks for the compliment Martha. Can I keep this photo?"

Kelsi smiled at her. "Go ahead. These are the doubles."

"Thanks Kels," Gabriella said.

They were laughing over some photos of Chad, Troy, and Jason doing the chicken dance in the water. Gabriella blushed as she admired Troy's toned chest and arms. Sharpay was shuffling through some more photos when she came across one that made her eyes tear up. "I'd forgotten about this," Sharpay muttered.

Taylor put an arm around her friend. "It's okay, Sharpay, you'll get through this. We can just chuck this photo."

Sharpay shook her head. "I can't believe Troy broke up with me. It hurts so much."

Gabriella looked at the photo and was mad at herself for getting jealous. In the photo, Troy and Sharpay had their arms around each other, Sharpay gazing lovingly up at him while Troy was staring at something over her shoulders with a soft look in his eyes. It was the way that Sharpay looked that made the photo so beautiful and Troy's eyes were so blue and tender. She wondered what Troy was looking at. As she looked at the photo again, she noticed the back of her head in the photo. Was she imagining what she was seeing? It looked like Troy was staring at _her_ behind Sharpay's shoulders. She had to be imagining it. If she noticed, wouldn't the others? Gabriella shook her head to clear her mind of these thoughts. Clearly, it was her imagination.

Gabriella dug in her purse for a tissue and handed it to Sharpay. "I'm really sorry, Shar," she said. "I just wish there was something we could do to make you feel better."

Sharpay shrugged her shoulders. "What can you do? I guess Troy wasn't into me as I was into him. I'm such a fool." She cried again, this time leaning her head on Gabriella's shoulder.

"You're not a fool," Martha told her. "Maybe I can ask Jason about it, see if he knows anything. I mean, we're all surprised by it."

"No!" Sharpay told her. "Don't get Jason involved. Besides, Gabs can ask Troy herself."

"What am I doing?" Gabriella asked.

"You and Troy are partners. Can't you just ask him why he broke up with me?" Sharpay whined.

Gabriella shook her head and gave Sharpay and apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Shar. You asked me to do that the other night and I told you no. I don't want to be involved with this."

"Gabs, you're my best friend and I'm in a lot of pain here. I need to know the real reason behind all this. I don't believe for one second that it's about him needing to be on his own. There has to be something more behind it."

"Sharpay, just let it go for now." Taylor offered. "We know you're hurting, but obsessing over it is not good. Just give Troy some time."

"Yeah," Kelsi agreed. "Maybe Troy will realize what a big mistake he made and come crawling back to you."

Sharpay smiled wistfully at her friends and nodded her head. "I guess you're right. I need to let it go for now. The break up is what it is. Besides I have to show that I'm doing great. Who says I need Troy Bolton anyway?" She gave them all an upbeat and beaming smile.

Gabriella smiled at her friend but she could see that the smile Sharpay was wearing didn't quite reach her eyes. Gabriella could see the sadness lingering there and it made her feel awful. She knew now more than ever that her crush on Troy had to end. She needed to move on and keep her distance from him. She just wished it didn't hurt so much to think it.

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A/N: The title of this chapter is called "Stay Away" a song by the wonderfully talented The Honorary Title. I love love LOVE this band. The lead singer's voice is wonderful :D


	11. Say It Ain't So

**A/N: I was inspired to write this morning. So I wrote Chapter 11 in about an hour. Hopefully you'll be pleased with this chapter. It truly breaks my heart about T&G's situation. But have some faith!**

**And as always, thanks for reading.**

**~Dee**

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**CHAPTER ELEVEN: SAY IT AIN'T SO**

Troy was miserable. Gabriella hadn't spoken to or looked at him since Monday. Every time he saw her at school, she was surrounded by Sharpay and the others. He almost stopped by her house last night but convinced himself not to. Hadn't he agreed to give her some time? Even though he had, it didn't mean he had to like it. But his mood changed as he realized today was Wednesday. Instead of free period, they would have their Family Living class. At least now Gabriella would have to talk to him.

Troy grabbed a bottle of orange juice out of the fridge and grabbed his backpack and TJ's carrier and headed out to his car. Maybe he could swing by and pick Gabriella up? Troy was contemplating if he should and decided to call her.

Gabriella picked up her cell after two rings. "Hello?"

"Hey Gabriella, it's Troy."

"Hey Troy," she said. "Kind of early to be calling me, don't you think?" She teased.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was just wondering if I could drive you to school today. I'm in my car now; I'd be over at your place in 15 or 20 minutes." Troy asked before he could lose his nerve.

He could hear Gabriella sigh. "Troy, I don't think that's such a good idea. I'm on my way out anyway. I'll just see you in homeroom."

"Sure. No worries." Troy tried to remain cool. "Are you going to talk to me at least?" He added at the last minute.

"Troy, you know I can't go out with you. Why do you keep trying? It's just easier for me if we don't talk for a while, okay?"

"No, it's not okay." Troy told her. "It just doesn't make sense why you have to give up our friendship."

"After everything that's happened the last few days, I think it's safe to say that what's going on between us is more than friendship, Troy. I just need my distance from you for the time being."

"I still don't get it. If you feel the same way about me as I do for you, then let's be together."

"Troy, for the last time, I can't be with you. Not now at least." Gabriella stressed.

"Why?" Troy asked. "Give me one good reason."

"Why?" Gabriella scoffed. "How can you ask me that? You know very damn well why? You have an ex-girlfriend by the name of Sharpay Evans who just happens to be my very best friend. If you can't get past that, then there's nothing more to discuss here. I gotta go."

"Brie, wait!" Troy exclaimed. But all he heard was silence as he realized Gabriella hung up on him.

Troy leaned his head against the steering wheel and took a few small breaths. Why was it that every time he talked to Gabriella he was always managing to mess it up. There was nothing else he could do at this point. Gabriella was determined not to go out with him, but he knew behind those words that she didn't mean it. He needed to talk to Chad and Jason. Troy started up the car and headed towards the school. He had to get their perspective on the situation.

During the drive to school Troy couldn't get Gabriella out of his mind. There was just something about her that made him happy. She really was one of the coolest girls he knew. As he pulled into the parking lot, he pulled into his usual spot and observed the student body milling around the front of the school.

He smiled as he saw Gabriella walking towards the school. She was wearing dark jeans that showed off her admirable back side and a cream colored v-neck sweater that clung to her curves. Her long dark curly was hair was loose and cascaded down her shoulders. _God, she looks good,_ he thought. Apparently he wasn't the only one to notice her. As Gabriella walked by, every guy she passed was watching her.

Troy's smile faded as he noticed Zeke Baylor make his way towards Gabriella and walked beside her. He felt like his heart was being ripped out and stomped on as Gabriella looked up at Zeke and smiled at him. He hated that Zeke guy. Who did he think he was? Gabriella and Zeke were still talking when he felt a tap on his passenger window. Troy looked over and saw Chad and Jason standing next to his car. He got out of his car to greet his friends. "What's up?" He smiled at them.

Chad grinned. "Like the view?"

Troy could feel himself blushing. "What are you talking about?"

Jason shook his head and laughed. "Bolton, you pulled up five minutes ago and all you've been doing is staring at Gabriella."

"Fine. Whatever." Troy scoffed. "Can you believe that dude?"

"Who? Zeke?" Chad asked.

"Yeah. Why is he even trying? She won't go out with him." Troy told his friends.

"Why? Because she's dying to go out with you?" Chad teased. "Bolton, she's done nothing but ignored you the past few days. How do you even know she's into you?"

Troy shrugged. "Gabriella's just being loyal to Sharpay. I know she feels the same way about me."

Jason looked at Troy. "It doesn't look like it." He nudged his heads towards Gabriella's direction. Troy followed Jason's gaze and felt his jaw tightened as Zeke and Gabriella broke apart from a hug. She waved good bye to Zeke and walked towards her friends who all seemed to be jumping up and down with excitement. _This can't be good,_ he thought.

"Ouch." Chad observed. "Sorry man. I know you like Gabriella a lot, but maybe it's better this way. Let's head to homeroom." Chad clapped a hand on Troy's shoulder.

Troy shrugged it off. "It's not over." He muttered, as he grabbed his backpack and TJ out of his car. As the trio made their way to the front doors, Troy felt his shoulders sag. This was turning out to be a terrible day. First, Gabriella rejected his ride this morning. Second, she had hung up on him. And third, it looked like she was getting all cozy with Zeke. It was enough to make him want to puke. He just hoped that he was imagining things. Gabriella would never go out with someone like Zeke. _At least I hope she wouldn't, _he thought sadly.

* * *

Gabriella was still a little miffed at Troy from his call earlier. How could he not understand that they couldn't be together? It hurt her more than anything not to be with Troy. But she knew she couldn't let him come between her and Sharpay. Sharpay seemed to be doing a little better. She wasn't as bitter as she was a couple of days ago. She knew her best friend would never like the idea of Gabriella and Troy together. Gabriella would be crazy to think that Sharpay would give them her blessing. She just wished she'd found someone else to like, but she knew in her heart no one compared to Troy Bolton.

She got out of her jeep and grabbed her backpack and made her way towards the school. She felt self conscious as she noticed she was getting a lot of attention from the male student body. Maybe she should've rethought her outfit for today. But she loved the dark jeans she had on; they made her butt look good. She shook her head and smiled and kept on walking. She heard someone call her name and she turned to see Zeke Baylor walk up beside her.

"Hey Zeke," she said.

"Hi there." Zeke told her. "So, how are things going?"

"Not too bad. I'm glad it's Wednesday. Now the rest of the week should go by quickly, I hope."

"I hear ya." Zeke looked down at her and smiled. Gabriella had to admit that he was very good looking. But he wasn't her type.

"So how are you enjoying East High? Now that you've been here a week." Gabriella asked.

"It's pretty cool. I'm meeting a lot of cool people."

"That's nice to hear." Gabriella told him. They had stopped walking by now and were standing in front of the school. Gabriella could see Sharpay, Taylor, Kelsi, and Martha standing the main entrance of the school. They all had big smiles on their faces.

"So, Gabriella," Zeke started, taking a deep breath. "I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me this Saturday."

Gabriella was caught off guard. Her first instinct was to say no because of Troy. But hadn't she agreed to try harder to forget about him? Troy was right, why should she be miserable. She owed it to herself to have some fun even if it wasn't with the boy she really wanted to be with. "This Saturday?" She asked.

"Yeah, I was hoping we could go to dinner and a movie or we can always do something else." Zeke said.

"Sure, I'd like to. That'd be very nice. Thanks for asking." Gabriella smiled up at him, knowing how robotic she sounded.

Zeke's smile widened, showing two rows of perfectly white teeth. "Great!" Zeke exclaimed. He leaned down and gave Gabriella a hug which threw her off guard again. "I'll pick you up at seven then?"

"Sounds good."

"See ya later." Zeke walked away with a big smile still plastered on his face.

"See ya." Gabriella muttered after him with a small wave. She turned towards her friends and walked towards them. They were all jumping up and down. Gabriella rolled her eyes at them. "You guys are terrible, you know that?"

"Did Zeke Baylor just ask you out?" Martha asked excitedly.

Gabriella nodded. "Yes, we're going out this Saturday."  
Sharpay's smile widened. "Oh my god! I can just see it now, you and Zeke are going to be the hottest couple ever!"

Gabriella rolled her eyes again and laughed. "It's just one date."

"Yes, but eventually one date will turn into more and then you'll have a boyfriend!" Sharpay continued.

Gabriella shook her head. "Please don't make a big deal about it. It's just one date. He seems like a nice enough person. I just don't know if I'm into him or not."

"Then why go out with him?" Kelsi asked.

"I don't really know him, so this would be a nice way to." Gabriella replied.

"Oh my god! What are you going to wear?" Sharpay asked. "We need to go shopping after school."

Taylor laughed. "I'm in for some shopping."

Gabriella looped her arm through Sharpay's as they made their way inside the school. "Shar, I don't need a new outfit for my date. I have plenty of clothes at home."

Sharpay and Martha chuckled as if sharing an inside joke. "Oh Gabriella, dear, it's clear that you haven't gone a date before. All girls know that a new outfit must be purchased prior to a first date."

Gabriella rolled her eyes again. "Trust me; I don't need a new outfit."

"We're going whether you like it or not." Sharpay said. The girls made their way to homeroom and chatted about numerous things. As they entered the classroom, Gabriella saw Troy sitting at his desk and it brought her back to reality. She didn't want to hurt Troy's feelings and she knew she should let him know about her date before someone else told him. She made her way to her desk and looked at the back of his head. Troy wasn't looking up at all as anyone came in and he kept his eyes on the top of his desk. She looked over at Jason and he gave her a small smile. She noticed Zeke wasn't in homeroom yet.

Just then Melanie Hartner came over to her desk and excitedly exclaimed in a loud voice. "Oh my god! You're going out with Zeke Baylor this weekend. How exciting?"

_Great_, Gabriella thought. She looked over at her friends and they shrugged, avoiding her glare. "Wow, news travels fast, doesn't it?" Gabriella asked sarcastically. She looked towards Troy's direction and saw his shoulders had tensed up and then slumped down as he heard Melanie.

"You guys are going to be like the hottest new "It" couple at East High. You are so lucky Gabriella. I heard that Zeke used to live in a mansion in San Diego and he's an All-State basketball and baseball player. And he loves to cook and bake. He's the whole package. You go, girl." Melanie babbled on.

Gabriella felt sick to her stomach as she heard all of this. She felt even sicker knowing that Troy was hearing all of it. "I don't really know much about Zeke." Gabriella replied lamely.

"The cheerleaders always thought you were crazy for turning down every guy that's asked you out. We just didn't realize you were so picky and waiting for the right one to come along. He's quite a catch – rich, good looking, and athletic. You've got really good taste."

"Melanie." Gabriella interrupted her. "As much as I appreciate your observations, there's no truth behind any of it."

Melanie looked at Gabriella and scoffed. "You think you're so much better than everyone, don't you?"

"No, I don't think that. I just don't need people to make assumptions about things they don't know about."

Melanie glared at Gabriella and made her way back to her desk. Gabriella looked down at her desk and sighed. She really hoped that everyone would get over her and Zeke's date. She was only going out with him to get over a certain someone. Like the truth about that would ever come out. She was hoping that Troy would look back at her or something. She kept staring at the back of his head, pleading with him to turn around.

As Ms. Darbus started the announcements for the day, Gabriella saw Troy lift his head up and slowly turned to his side until his eyes met hers. Gabriella gave him a pained and apologetic look. Troy just stared at her with his blue eyes and she noticed how sad he looked. It hurt Gabriella so much that she looked back down at her desk and blinked back some tears. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold it in if Troy stared at her with the same expression. How in the hell was she going to get through the next week of this project? All Gabriella knew was that no matter what, she was still unbelievable crazy about Troy. After learning about her date, how would he feel towards her now?

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**A/N: The title fo this chapter is "Say It Ain't So" by Weezer**


	12. Smile Like You Mean It

**Hi Readers - here's the next chapter.**

**If there are any Greek fans, please read my first fanfic for Greek called "Can't Let Go" - I just posted the first chapter today.**

**Enjoy!**

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**CHAPTER TWELVE: SMILE LIKE YOU MEAN IT**

Gabriella was nervous as she made her way back to Ms. Darbus' classroom for Family Living. After homeroom this morning, Troy had walked out of there before she could have a chance to talk to him. She knew she was supposed to get TJ, but Troy held on the doll. At lunch Troy didn't sit with the group. Gabriella had an idea where he probably was but she knew there was no way she could leave the table to find him.

She was also annoyed that by now the whole school had heard about her date with Zeke Baylor. She knew Sharpay and the others were to blame for that. She was seriously thinking about canceling the date, but decided she owed it to herself and Zeke to give it a shot. She needed to get over Troy and if her attention was focused on someone else, it might help her. Gabriella knew that even as she thought about these things, it was going to take a long time before she could ever get over someone as amazing as Troy.

As she walked into the classroom, she saw Troy and made her way over to the desk next to him. "Hey Troy," Gabriella said.

Without looking up at her, Troy mumbled. "Hey."

"How's TJ?" She asked.

Troy shrugged. "He hasn't made a peep all day."

"That's good news then. I heard that the Martha's baby cried out during their Spanish test the other day. It really irked the other students." Gabriella said with a laugh, but Troy wasn't laughing with her. "Troy?"

"Yeah?" He mumbled again.

"Please tell me this is not how we're going to communicate." Gabriella said.

This time, Troy looked up and gave Gabriella a sad look. "Isn't this what you wanted? Less communication with me."

"That's not what I meant." Gabriella told him.

The sad expression on Troy's face changed to one of annoyance. "Then what do you mean? You're confusing me. One minute you're into me, the next you act like I'm nothing. I don't know what you want." Troy said with exasperation.

Gabriella leaned closer towards him and said. "I just meant that we have to be careful when we talk. I just don't want it to be so obvious."

"Like how you're so obvious with Zeke." Troy challenged.

"I was going to tell you about that." Gabriella muttered.

"Why do you feel like you owe me an explanation? You said it yourself, we're not together. So why would I care?"

Gabriella felt like she'd been slapped. "I won't go out with Zeke if you don't want me to."

Troy shrugged. "It's your life. Do what you want. I don't really care."

Gabriella tried to hide her hurt. She knew that Troy was just putting up a front. He was obviously hurt because of the way he was treating her and talking to her. "You _do_ care." Gabriella whispered to him. "There's only one reason why you're treating me like this."

"Believe what you want to believe, Gabriella. You made it pretty clear that you don't want to be with me. So, I'm letting you go. You don't have to worry about me chasing you anymore. You're right; it would've never worked out."

Gabriella didn't know what to say. She knew that she had to get out of the classroom before she started crying. She went up to Mrs. Bishop and asked if she could be excused because she felt like she was going to throw up. Mrs. Bishop gave her a sympathetic look and told her she could be excused.

Gabriella threw another look back at Troy and she saw him look at her with a sad expression. She rolled her eyes and went out of the classroom and ran to the bathroom and locked herself in one of the stalls. She leaned her head against the coolness of the door and let the tears come out. How could everything be so unfair? Why couldn't she have been the one dating Troy from the beginning? She wished there was someone she could talk to about Troy, but none of their mutual friends would ever understand or support it. She was all alone.

She heard the bathroom door open and heard two girls coming in. Gabriella wiped her tears from her eyes and tried to remain calm. She heard one of the girls say, "Troy Bolton is so hot. He looks so good in that sweater today."

"I know. I feel so sorry for Sharpay." The other girl said.

Girl One laughed. "You do not. You were dancing with joy when you heard they broke up. It's about time, too."

"Of course I'm happy they broke up. Someone that hot does not need to be tied down." Girl Two said laughing.

Gabriella rolled her eyes as she listened to the girls talking. She wasn't sure if she recognized their voices, but she assumed they were either juniors or seniors, possibly cheerleaders.

"Speaking of hotness. Did you see Zeke Baylor today?" Girl Two asked.

"He's so tall. I'd love for him to look down at me." Girl One said.

"Can you believe he asked out Gabriella Montez?" Girl Two asked.

Gabriella's throat tightened as she heard her name. She should just open the bathroom stall right now and surprise them. But she decided against it.

"I know. I was shocked when I heard she said yes. We all _know_ how picky she is. Half the male student body has asked her out and she's turned them all down. And we have some really hot guys at this school." Girl One babbled on.

"I bet you it's because Zeke's family's filthy rich. Who would've thought Gabriella was a gold digger? I would've figured Sharpay to be more like that." Girl Two said with a snort.

Gabriella could feel her face getting red and angry. She hated being a part of gossip and what these girls were saying were insulting and false about her and about Sharpay. She knew she had to show them she was there. Gabriella unlocked the bathroom stall and stepped out much to the embarrassment and surprise of the two cheerleaders looking back at her.

Gabriella washed her hands and as she wiped her hands with a paper towel, she stared at both girls with a glare in her eyes and walked out of the bathroom without giving either of them a second look or thought. She made her way to her locker and opened it. She stared at herself in the mirror taped inside her locker and noticed that her eyes no longer showed that she'd been crying. Perhaps she could return to class. She would show Troy that she was fine. If he wanted to be over her, then let him. Gabriella headed back towards the classroom and plastered a smile on her face. She knew she was about to put on her best performance portraying a girl-who's-really-happy-that-her-crush-no-longer-likes-her. _Right_, she thought. There was a reason why she always stayed away from theatre. Gabriella reached the door and sighed, "Here goes," she muttered as she opened the door and walked in.

* * *

Troy felt like a jerk as he watched Gabriella leave the classroom. It had pained him when she turned around to look at him. He had every reason to be annoyed right now. Gabriella was confusing him. She was the one that had accepted a date with that good-for-nothing Zeke. He was getting sick of hearing about their date. He heard about it in every class he had today. It was nauseating. It wasn't fair. He pursued Gabriella first and he knew that no matter how much Gabriella insisted that they couldn't be together, he knew she felt the same way he did.

Mrs. Bishop had told the class to look over their packets and start working on their family budgets. He didn't know if Gabriella was coming back to class or not. How were they going to complete this project within the next week? Things were weird and tense between them now. Maybe they would have to work on the project Saturday night or something. _Ha! Yeah right_, Troy thought. Like Gabriella wouldn't see through that. She would know he was deliberately trying to break her date with Zeke. But hadn't Gabriella told him she wouldn't go out with Zeke if he didn't want her to. When he heard her say that, he was ecstatic, but instead he had told her he didn't care and acted aloof towards her. There was one thing he knew for sure – he wanted them to stop pretending and be together already. He couldn't stand to hurt Gabriella anymore with his dumb words and he didn't want to be hurt by her actions.

He was reviewing the packet when the classroom door opened and Gabriella came back into the room. She looked over at him and had a big smile on her face. Troy felt unsteady as Gabriella made her way over to him and took her seat next to him.

"Hi Troy," Gabriella said enthusiastically.

Troy gave her a confused look. He swore that when she left the room earlier, she looked sad and upset by the way he treated her. The girl sitting next to him was smiling ear-to-ear. It kind of creeped him out a bit. "Hi Gabriella," he said hesitantly.

"Did I miss much?" She asked.

"We're supposed to work on our monthly budgets."

Gabriella grabbed the folder from him. "Hmmm. Easy enough."

"Brie?" He asked.

Gabriella looked up and her smile widened. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?" He asked with genuine concern.

"Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You just seem extremely upbeat."

"I'm just trying to remain positive despite everything else."

"And what's everything else?" Troy asked.

"You know what I'm talking about Troy. Everything else. You and Me."

"So you're happy? That things aren't working between you and me."

Gabriella shrugged. "It is what it is. Who are we trying to kid, right? I'm just being realistic."

Now Troy knew that Gabriella was putting up front. Despite the smile plastered on her face. He could see the sadness in her eyes. "Yeah, who are we kidding?" Troy agreed.

Gabriella looked at Troy. "Anyway, let's just concentrate on the project. Let's leave the drama out. Agreed?"

Troy held Gabriella's gaze with his own. "Agreed."

Gabriella smiled at him. "Great! Let's look over the budget then." She took papers out of the folder and spread them out on the desk. Gabriella looked over the numbers as Troy looked at her.

He had no idea where the real Gabriella was. Who was this person sitting next to him? He had to get to the bottom of it. He knew the only way he could get Gabriella to really talk to him if it was outside of school. "Brie?" He said to her.

Gabriella looked up from the papers. "Yeah?"

"We need to talk. Tonight."

"We're already talking." She told him.

"We need to have a real talk. About us."

Gabriella knew as much as she fought it that Troy had a point. "Fine."

"Do you want to come to my house? Or I could come to yours." Troy suggested.

"Let's go somewhere else." Gabriella said. "How about IHOP?"

"You really like that place, don't you?" Troy smiled.

Gabriella shrugged. "No, it's just that a lot of people don't go there on a school night. So we should be safe."

"I'll meet you after practice. Let's meet at 7:00. Sound good?"

"Sure." Gabriella said quietly.

"And we'll really talk about our situation?" He asked.

"Yes, we need to."

They had been so engrossed in their little conversation; they didn't realize class was over as the bell rang to dismiss them. Gabriella grabbed her things and TJ's carrier. "See ya tonight," she whispered.

Troy's heart fluttered as he felt her whisper on the back of his neck. He watched her leave the classroom and smiled. He couldn't wait to talk to Gabriella. He knew he had to convince her to be with him. He just hoped that Gabriella would see things his way. It was really the only thing that made sense to him these days. They belonged together. Despite how much it would hurt Sharpay, it wasn't like they plotted or planned behind her back. Everything had to work out. He just hoped they would.

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**A/N: The title of this chapter is called "Smile Like You Mean It" by The Killers - this is an amazing song!**


	13. Nothing In My Way

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN: NOTHING IN MY WAY**

Gabriella pulled into the IHOP parking lot and parked her jeep. As she got out of the jeep, she did a quick glance of the lot to see if she recognized any familiar vehicles. She really hoped that her and Troy's meeting tonight was private. Once she was confident that all the vehicles in the lot didn't belong to any East High students, she made her way into the restaurant. Gabriella smiled as she noticed Troy sitting in the waiting area for her. "Hey Troy," she called out to him.

Troy turned towards Gabriella's voice and a big smile appeared on his face. Gabriella, like always, looked beautiful. She had her long hair pulled up in a high pony tail. Loose tendrils fell in soft wisps around her face. She was wearing a form fitting black sweater over a pair of cream colored skinny pants. "Hey Brie," he replied, not taking his eyes off of her. He turned to the hostess and told her his date was here.

Gabriella smiled and couldn't help but feel delighted when she heard Troy call her his date. She knew they were meeting to talk tonight, but she could still imagine that they were on some pseudo-date, couldn't she? The hostess smiled at Gabriella as she led her and Troy to a booth in the back of the restaurant. Gabriella slid into one side of the booth as Troy slid in across from her. After the hostess left, Gabriella looked at Troy and gave him a shy smile. Now that they were alone, she felt a little nervous and excited at the same time. "So, how was the rest of your day?" She asked.

"My day was much better after we set up our meeting." Troy told her. "Basketball practice wasn't too bad. We just practiced some drills and shooting three pointers. How about yours?"

"It was okay. I'm starting to regret my date with Zeke. Everyone was bombarding me with questions all day about it. And then I heard some cheerleaders talking about me in the girls bathroom." Gabriella told Troy with a little bitterness.

"What were they saying?" He asked with genuine concern.

"According to my sources, Zeke's supposedly rich and he was All-State in basketball and baseball in San Diego. Since I've never gone out with anyone, they all assume I'm going out with Zeke because he's rich. One of the cheerleaders called me a gold digger." Gabriella replied.

"I'm sorry that you're getting crap for it. I wouldn't worry about what any of them have to say."

"I wish it was that easy. The only reason I agreed to the date was so that I could try and get over you." Gabriella said, looking down at her hands.

Troy was about to respond when their waitress showed up at the table. She took their order. Gabriella ordered a glass of apple juice and the Spinach and Mushroom Omelet. Troy ordered a glass of orange juice and the Country Omelet. Once they were alone again, Troy looked at Gabriella. "Do you honestly want to get over me?"

Gabriella blushed. "Of course not. It's not even possible. But you told me earlier that you were over me. Is that true?"

Troy chuckled. "Of course it isn't. I was just trying to be tough. I was hurt when I heard Melanie exclaim in homeroom about your date." Troy looked Gabriella in the eyes and continued. "To be honest, when I pulled into the parking lot this morning, I saw you walking towards the school and I was annoyed when I saw Zeke come up to you. It really bothered me."

"Sorry," Gabriella said quietly to Troy. "I think I do want to break my date with him. It wouldn't be fair to go out with him when I'm obviously crazy about someone else."

Troy's smiled widened. "So you're crazy about me?" He asked teasing her.

Gabriella laughed and rolled her eyes. Then she gave him a serious look. "Troy, what are we going to do?"

Troy looked at her and shrugged. "I don't know. I have a suggestion but only if you agree to it."

"What kind of suggestion?" Gabriella asked.

Troy reached across the table and took Gabriella's hand in his. "I'm crazy about you, Brie. I just want to be with you."

Gabriella squeezed Troy's hand. "Despite everything I've said to you about not being together, I want to be with you too. I'm not sure I can handle staying away from you."

"Then don't. Let's just be together." Troy said.

"But what about Sharpay?" Gabriella asked.

"What about her? Gabriella, I broke up with her because I couldn't be with her anymore." Troy told her.

"I know that. But, I feel awful. I feel like I'm betraying her if I go out with you. How would you feel if Chad was interested in me?" Gabriella replied.

Troy nodded. "I understand and see what you're saying. Maybe we can be together outside of school. At school, we can keep our relationship a secret. What do you think?"

Gabriella looked at Troy and contemplated his words. "But, I don't want anything with you to be a secret."

"Well, we can just go public then. I'll get up an announce to this whole room right now that you're my girl." Troy told her, moving out of the booth.

Gabriella laughed and grabbed Troy's arm. "No you won't!" She exclaimed with a laugh. "Are you crazy?"

Troy got out of his side and slid into the booth next to Gabriella. He lifted her chin up with his finger. He gave her a serious look. "Brie," he whispered. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

Gabriella gulped and felt her throat getting dry. The logical part of her brain was telling her to say no and to consider Sharpay's feelings. But the other part of her brain was telling her to go for it. This was what she wanted more than anything. Gabriella slowly nodded her head and said "Uh huh."

Troy smiled as his face came closer to hers. "Good answer," he muttered as he covered her lips with his. Troy was ecstatic and he loved kissing Gabriella. Her lips were full and smooth. They were so engrossed in their kiss when they heard someone clearing their throat. They broke apart and sheepishly looked towards their waitress. She put their food down in front of them and gave them a smile before leaving them. Troy slid out of the booth and sat across from Gabriella again. He gave her a big grin. "Can I just say how much I enjoy kissing you?"

Gabriella blushed. "I love kissing you, too." She looked at Troy with a serious expression. "Troy, are we crazy for doing this?"

"Probably. But we all have to be a little crazy sometimes, right?" Troy said as he put a forkful of his omelet in his mouth.

Gabriella nodded. "So, how are we doing this? At school, we'll pretend we're just friends, but outside of school we can have secret rendezvous and dates."

Troy smiled. "For the time being, it looks like that's what we'll have to do."

"Well, as much as I don't want to be secretive, I think it's the only thing that we can do. I know I can't go on pretending I don't like you." Gabriella said.

"I don't want either of us pretending. I just want to be with you and get to know you. I'm down with keeping things a secret until we can go public."

Gabriella looked at Troy and gazed into his eyes. "Alright, let's do it then. I'll be your girlfriend."

Troy broke out into a huge grin. "You really mean it?"

She reached over and put her hand in his. "Definitely."

"I can't believe it. Gabriella Montez is my girlfriend." Troy said. "I love the sound of that."

Gabriella smiled at him. "I like that a lot, too."

"So, now that we're together. Where do you want to go out on Friday night?" Troy asked.

"Friday night?"

"Yeah, it's date night. I want to make it official and take you somewhere great."

"Well, where can we go that we won't run into other East High students?"

"Hmmm. Well, we can't go to the movies because everyone goes there. Besides, like I would want to waste two hours in a theatre with you."

Gabriella gasped. "What?"

Troy smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, it came out wrong. I just meant I'd rather spend two hours alone with you where I could talk to you instead."

Gabriella winked at him. "I know that. I just wanted to hear you say it."

Troy smiled. "I know where I want to take you on Friday."

"Where?"

"It's a surprise."

"Is this another secret place?" Gabriella teased.

"You'll see."

"That's not fair!" Gabriella exclaimed. "I want to make sure I'm dressed appropriately."

"Like you would look bad in anything. I swear, you could wear a brown bag and it'd looked hot on you."

Gabriella blushed. "Thanks."

"You really have nothing to worry about. Just wear something cute and comfortable. I'll pick you up at 7:00."

"Okay," Gabriella nodded. "It's a date then. Speaking of dates, I'll cancel my date with Zeke."

"Yeah, you will." Troy teased.

"Anyway, I'm really glad we talked and figured things out." Gabriella said as she squeezed his hand.

"I'm really happy about us." Troy told Gabriella, holding her gaze with his own.

"Me too. I'm ecstatic. I can't believe it that you're my boyfriend now. I can actually call you that."

"Ready to get out of here?"

"Yes. I need to start on some homework."

Troy got out of the booth and held his hand out to Gabriella. "Let's go."

She smiled and slipped her hand into his. After Troy paid for their meal, they went out to the parking lot. Troy walked Gabriella to her jeep. Gabriella didn't want the night to end at all. All she wanted to do was stay up all night and talk to him. She unlocked her jeep and opened the door. "So, I'll see you tomorrow then?" She said to Troy.

"I can't wait." He whispered. "It'll be hard tomorrow though."

"Why?" Gabriella said breathlessly as Troy came closer to her.

"Because I'll want to do this." He said giving her a kiss on the cheek. "And this." He continued kissing her on the other cheek. "And this." He said as he gave her a kiss on the lips.

Gabriella put her arms around Troy's neck and ran one hand through his hair. Everything was perfect. The guy of her dreams was kissing her. She felt her heart flutter as Troy's arms wrapped around her waist. He was running one hand up and down her back. He could stay in this position all night if he could. He'd never felt this much passion when kissing someone before.

Gabriella finally broke their embrace. "Whew," she said. "I better get going, Troy. Otherwise, I'll be in real trouble if I stay here any longer."

He smiled at kissed the tip of her nose. "I know. Me too." He pulled her in his arms and hugged her tight against his chest. He breathed in her familiar scent vanilla and honey.

Gabriella smiled as she laid her head on his chest. It felt so good to be in his arms. But she knew she had to get going. "Okay, Troy. I have to go."

"I don't want to let you go." He said to her. "Ever."

"We can continue this on Friday." She told him.

"Sounds good." He stepped back from her. "See you tomorrow."

"See you then." Gabriella got into her jeep and closed the door. She started the jeep and backed out of her spot. Before she took off, she looked back at Troy and smiled. He smiled back at her and gave her a small wave. Gabriella pulled out of the parking lot and smiled the whole time she drove home. Troy Bolton was now officially her boyfriend. She wanted to scream it at the top of her lungs. She just hoped they wouldn't have to keep it a secret for too long. Secrets always had a way of coming out sooner than later. She just hoped it'd be much much later.

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**A/N: The title of this chapter is "Nothing In My Way" by Keane.**


	14. The Lovers Are Losing

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE LOVERS ARE LOSING**

Gabriella was all smiles as she pulled into the East High parking lot. When she woke up that morning, she still couldn't believe the events of the night before. Troy Bolton was her boyfriend. As much as she hated the idea of hurting Sharpay if she ever found out, she knew she couldn't stay away from Troy either. After parking her jeep, Gabriella got out and grabbed her backpack and TJ. She made her way towards the front doors of the school. As she walked by she noticed the other students looked at her as she walked by. Gabriella ignored it and went inside the school to her locker.

She was pulling some books out of her backpack when she heard the click clack of heels behind her. Gabriella smiled as she realized it was Sharpay. She turned around to face her best friend. "Good morning, Shar." She said giving her a big smile. Gabriella could feel the smile coming off her face as she stared at Sharpay's tear streaked face. "Shar, what's wrong?"

Sharpay snorted and scoffed. "You're quite the little actress you know? Feigning concern and all."

Gabriella shook her head. "What are you talking about?"

Sharpay lifted her cell phone and showed it to Gabriella. _"This."_ She stressed. Gabriella's eyes widened in shock as she realized she was staring at an image of her and Troy kissing from the night before.

"Where'd you get that?" Gabriella asked.

"How could you Gabriella? You know how much I love Troy. I can't believe you." Sharpay cried.

"Shar, let me explain." Gabriella started. "I swear nothing happened while you guys were together."

"Do you honestly _think _that makes me feel better?" Sharpay asked. By now a crowd of students was gathering around them.

"I don't know what to say here. I really tried to stay away from Troy, but I couldn't help it. I'm sorry." Gabriella told her dejectedly.

"Don't apologize to me. I will never forgive you for this." Sharpay seethed. She gave Gabriella another look. "I can't believe that I was actually trying to help you find a boyfriend. All along you wanted _my _boyfriend. I should've figured that out sooner. Don't think for a second that I believe that you just happened to like Troy after we broke up."

Gabriella sighed. "I swear to you we didn't do anything behind your back."

"I don't care, you back-stabbing bitch!" Sharpay exclaimed, which caused the crowd to gasp. "This photo looks like it was done behind my back. It looks like you're sneaking around here. You're kissing Troy for god's sake!"

Gabriella felt like Sharpay had slapped her. _What kind of world was I living in?_ Gabriella thought. She should've listened to the logical part of her brain and resisted Troy. "I'm sorry. I hate that I let myself fall for Troy, alright? What was I supposed to do?"

Sharpay rolled her eyes at Gabriella. "You act so innocent, but you're not." Sharpay looked at her with a glare. "What were you supposed to do?" Sharpay continued mockingly. "How about back off of my boyfriend?"

"That's enough Sharpay." A voice interrupted their confrontation. Everyone turned to stare as Troy walked towards them and stood next to Gabriella. He looked at Sharpay. "This isn't Gabriella's fault."

Sharpay scoffed. "I can't believe you fell for her little innocent act, Troy."

Troy gave her a cold glare. "It's not an act. If you want the truth, here it is, for the last month of our relationship I didn't feel anything anymore for you, okay?" The crowd gasped as they heard Troy. Troy ignored them and went on. "I had my eyes on someone else and I'm sorry that it had to be on your best friend." Sharpay stared at Troy with shock.

"Well, it still doesn't excuse her behavior. You don't go after a friend's ex. Everyone knows that." Sharpay spat out, glaring at Gabriella.

Gabriella was about to respond, but Troy beat her to it. "Gabriella has been nothing but loyal to you. She's turned me down every time I asked her out."

"She didn't turn you down last night." Sharpay said.

"We met up to talk last night, okay?" Troy told her.

"Does this look like talking?" Sharpay shoved the photo of them in his face.

Troy shrugged. "I don't regret kissing Gabriella." As he said that, Sharpay's face turned into an angry scowl. "Besides, screw this stupid rule about not going out with a friend's ex. We can't help who fall for." Troy looked at the crowd that had gathered around them now. "I'll tell everyone right not that wants to hear it. I'm crazy about this girl next to me. Gabriella, will you be my girlfriend?"

All eyes turned on Gabriella. She really didn't like any of this attention at all. She was thankful that Troy had come to her rescue, but why did he have to declare to the whole student body that he was crazy about her? It wasn't going to help her situation with Sharpay or any of her friends. Gabriella felt awful as Troy stared at her with his caring blue eyes. She could feel the tears coming and had to get out of there. "I'm sorry Troy. This was a bad idea from the start. I gotta go." She grabbed her backpack and TJ and slammed her locker shut and made her way towards the student parking lot. She had to get out of there.

She ran to her jeep and pulled out of the school lot. She had no idea where she was driving. All she knew was that she couldn't show her face at school for the time being. Not only did she lose her best friend, but she'd probably lost her boyfriend, too. Troy had put his heart out there and she just left him. Gabriella was sad as she realized she was going to be alone now. The fact that someone caught her and Troy kissing and sent a photo to Sharpay didn't really help her at all. Everyone would be on Sharpay's side. "Like I'd blame them," Gabriella muttered out loud. "How stupid can I be? Stupid, stupid, stupid." Gabriella kept muttering those words as she drove towards her house. All she wanted to do was curl up in her bed and cover her face and hide from everyone.

* * *

Troy stared in shock after Gabriella. He felt like an idiot. He had to open his big mouth and declare his affections for her. He knew by now how much Gabriella hated having attention on her. He couldn't believe it that someone had caught them at IHOP and sent a photo to Sharpay. He turned back towards the crowd and Sharpay.

"Wow," Sharpay said sarcastically. "Dissed by the Ice Queen." She walked up to Troy and placed a hand on his arm. "Troy, let's forget that this all happened and be together again. We belong together."

Troy scowled at Sharpay and shrugged her hand off of his arm. "You just don't get it, do you?" He didn't care that she got a hurt look on her face. "I don't want to be with you. I want her."

"She just left you and rejected you." Sharpay said with a little menacing tone.

"She doesn't like attention, unlike someone else." Troy replied back. He gave Sharpay another look, "Here's the truth Sharpay. We're sorry it happened this way, but I'm crazy about her and I know she feels the same way for me. I'm going to be with her whether you or anyone in this school likes it or not."

Sharpay pursed her lips and stared at Troy. "Do what you want," she sneered. "As of right now, I don't want either of you in my life."

"Come on Sharpay," Troy said. "It's fine if you don't want me in your life, but don't say that about Gabriella. She's been loyal to you from the start. Don't end your friendship with her because of me."

"Well, she should've thought about that before she kissed you then." Sharpay retorted back.

"I initiated everything. I pursued her. I kissed her."

"Do you really think I want to hear this?" Sharpay asked with disgust. She turned towards her girlfriends and gestured with her head. "Let's get out of here." As Sharpay left the crowd with Martha, Kelsi, and Taylor, the girls all glared at him.

Slowly the crowd disappeared leaving Troy alone at Gabriella's locker. He couldn't believe everything that had happened. He knew he had to go and find Gabriella. There was no way he could stay in school after today's event. Troy saw Chad and Jason walking towards him.

Chad gave Troy a half grin. "Sorry, Hoops, that was rough."

Troy shrugged. "I'm just glad I don't have to keep anything a secret anymore."

Jason chuckled. "What did we say about being careful?"

"We were. I swear I didn't see any other East High student at IHOP last night. I'm not sure who could've taken that photo."

"What are you going to do now? Gabriella pretty much just left you hanging there." Chad asked.

"She wants to be with me." Troy said confidently.

"Are you sure about that?" Jason asked with concern. "Maybe she felt that way last night, but after today, she might stay away from you."

"Then I need to find her and talk to her. I wonder where she went." Troy wondered.

"Wish we could help you there. But, we better get going to homeroom." Chad said.

"You guys go on without me. I have to get out of here."

"You sure?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, I need to find Gabriella. I'll see you both later." Troy told them.

Jason gave Troy a sincere look. "Even though Martha's my girlfriend and she'll be mad at you and Gabriella, I want you to know that I'm supportive of whatever you and Gabriella do. I hope it works out."

Troy gave his friend a smile. "Thanks Jason. I appreciate it."

"Anytime." Jason replied back.

Chad nodded. "I hope things work out, too. Gabriella's definitely one of the coolest girls at school and she deserves happiness."

"Thanks," Troy said. "I better go before the bell rings." Troy ran out to the parking lot and got into his car. He needed to find where Gabriella was. He was sure she had left school. There was no way she would've stayed here.

He called Gabriella. She picked up after the first ring. "Hello?"

"Gabriella, where are you? We need to talk."

"I'm okay, Troy. I just need to be alone right now."

"Brie, I want to be there for you. It's as much my fault that we're in this situation."

"Please Troy," Gabriella pleaded. "I'm okay."

"Where are you?" Troy asked.

Gabriella sighed. "I'm at my house. Please, Troy, I need to be alone right now. I'm not ready to see anyone, especially you."

"But Brie, what about us? You still want to be with me, right?"

Troy was scared at how quiet and silent Gabriella had gotten. Then he heard a low sigh. "Troy, I can't deal with us right now. I just lost my best friend. I can't think about us, okay. Just forget that we ever decided to secretly date. It was foolish of me to even think we'd get away with it."

"Brie," Troy started.

"I'm sorry. Bye Troy."

Troy stared at his phone as Gabriella hung up on him. He knew he had to see her no matter what. He knew where she lived. He would just have to surprise her there. He had to see her. She had to know that he'd be there for her no matter what. Troy pulled out of the student parking lot and made the drive towards Gabriella house, but not before making a detour first. There was no way he was going to lose Gabriella. He just hoped she would give him a chance when he got to her house.

* * *

**A/N: Please let me know what you think. Please have faith in Troy and Gabriella. They'll be together no matter what.... :D **

**The title of this chapter is called "The Lovers Are Losing" by Keane.**


	15. You Could Be Happy

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN: YOU COULD BE HAPPY**

Gabriella felt all warm and comfortable in her bed. She had the comforter over her head and she was curled up in the fetal position. She had been crying for the last hour or so. When she had gotten home, she had called her mom and told her she wasn't feeling well and was home from school. Her mom had agreed that it was best that she stay home. Her mom had offered to come home and be with her, but Gabriella told her she was most likely going to be in bed all day so she shouldn't have to worry.

She was still in shock of the events that had transpired at school. How could she have been so stupid to think that she and Troy wouldn't get caught? It had been horrifying when Sharpay showed her the image of her and Troy kissing. She thought they had been safe at IHOP. She hadn't recognized anyone from East High. Who could've taken the picture?

What was she going to do now? Would any of her friends be her friends anymore? She couldn't believe she had let Troy Bolton come between her friendship with Sharpay. She should've just told Troy to leave her alone from the very start. But she had to let everything get out of hand. She knew she didn't ever think clearly whenever she was in the presence of Troy. She had meant it when she told him on the phone that she couldn't see him at the moment. Now that Sharpay knew about them, she couldn't possibly continue to date Troy, could she?

Gabriella wiped the tears from her face and heard her cell phone ring. She ignored it. There was no way she was going to answer it. She sighed as the phone went silent, but not before it started ringing again. Gabriella peeked down at her phone and saw Troy's photo flash on the screen. Her heart ached at the sight of his picture. She couldn't talk to him right now. She ignored the call again. She breathed a sigh of relief as she realized Troy had given up trying to call her.

Gabriella closed her eyes and tried to will herself to fall asleep. She was relaxed and she could feel her eyes start to blink with exhaustion. She jerked to attention as she heard a small knock coming from inside her bedroom. Gabriella took the comforter off of her and looked around her bedroom. She heard the knock again. She looked towards her balcony and almost screamed as she saw Troy Bolton standing right outside her door. Gabriella got out of her bed and marched towards the balcony and threw her door open. "What the hell Troy? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" She exclaimed.

Troy grinned sheepishly at her. "Sorry. You wouldn't answer your phone."

"You could've just ringed the doorbell at the front of the house." She suggested, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And would you have come down to open it?" Troy challenged.

Gabriella shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not."

"See. That's why I was left with no choice but to climb up to your balcony." Troy smiled at her and wiggled his eyebrows.

Gabriella narrowed her eyes at Troy. "Don't try to be cute right now."

"Seriously Brie, we have to talk." Troy told her.

"I don't want to talk right now about anything." Gabriella replied. "Everything is over Troy."

"No, they're not. What you and I share is still here." Troy said holding a hand to his heart.

Gabriella turned her back on Troy and shook her head. "Troy, everyone knows about us. It's a big wake up call that I can't go through with it. I can't be with you."

"Brie," Troy started, grabbing her shoulders and turning her around to face him. "I don't care what anyone thinks. I want to be with you." He was looking into her eyes and pleading with her.

Gabriella did all she could to resist throwing her arms around Troy and kissing him. She knew she had to be tough. "I already hurt Sharpay enough. I can't continue this, okay?"

"No, it's not okay?" Troy cried out. "You frustrate me sometimes, Brie. Just let this happen. What's done has already been done."

Gabriella groaned in frustration. "Damn it Troy!" She exclaimed. "You don't get it, do you? You're not the one that lost her best friend today, okay? I can't stand to think that Sharpay hates me." She could feel the tears start up again. "By going out with you, I would just be hurting her more."

Troy looked at Gabriella long and hard and did the only thing he knew she needed. He pulled her into his arms and held her. "I'm sorry Brie. I know how much your friendship with Sharpay means. I guess I've been too selfish to realize that you were losing a lot by being with me."

Gabriella laid her head against Troy's chest and closed her eyes. As much as she resisted, she couldn't help but feel secure and safe in Troy's arms. "I just can't believe that someone caught us at IHOP last night."

"I know," Troy agreed.

"I'm just so overwhelmed by everything right now, Troy. I hate that Sharpay and I are no longer friends. I hate that I have to end things with you." Gabriella mused.

"Hey," Troy said gently lifting her chin with his finger so that she was looking up at him. "We don't have to end things, do we? If you want to take things slow, we can do that. I just don't want to think of losing you."

Gabriella looked into Troy's blue eyes and knew that he was being sincere. She knew in her heart that she didn't want to lose Troy either. Maybe she didn't have to be loyal to Sharpay anymore since they weren't talking. Even as she though that, Gabriella knew it'd be wrong to continue seeing Troy. As much as wanted to stop seeing him, a bigger part of her couldn't. In the end, that part of her won. She gave Troy a small smile. "I guess we don't have to end things after all."

"Good," Troy muttered as he brought his face down to hers. "I've wanted to do this all morning." He pressed his lips against hers and felt his knees go weak as Gabriella kissed him back. He ran one hand up and down her back. He was happy as he heard Gabriella moan in pleasure at their kiss.

Gabriella knew she could stay in this position with Troy forever. It was like his lips were made for hers. She loved the way he was rubbing her back. She ran a hand through his brown hair and loved how silky it felt in her hands. She moaned as Troy broke their embrace to leave trails of kisses on her neck. She closed her eyes and smiled. This was perfect. Troy was leaving a kiss behind her ear and it drove her crazy. They fell back on her bed and they continued kissing for a while. Her shirt had ridden up a bit and was baring her toned belly.

Troy looked down at Gabriella and was in awe of how beautiful she looked. Her dark hair was fanned out around her head. The shirt she was wearing no longer covered her stomach. He leaned down and kissed her belly button and continued moving his lips up over her exposed belly. He could feel Gabriella trembling beneath his kisses. He wondered if she would remove her shirt. He was dying to see all of her.

He felt Gabriella nudge his head. "Troy?" She asked breathlessly.

"Yeah?" He muttered.

"I think we should stop before things get out of hand." Gabriella told him.

Troy knew she was right. He didn't want to push Gabriella into doing anything. "You're right, we should stop." He rolled off of her and laid next to her. "I just love kissing you."

"Who says we have to stop?" Gabriella turned her head to face him. "We can keep on kissing, we just have to be careful about everything else."

"Don't mind if I do," Troy smiled as she put her lips against his. They continued kissing for a while, neither of them wanting to take a break or getting some air. They were so engrossed in their embrace when they heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Oh my god! It's my mom." Gabriella whispered. "Go hide in my closet. It's a walk-in."

"Stay calm," he advised giving her a quick peck. He got off of her bed and made his way to the closet and closed it behind him. "Whew," Troy said under his breath. He knew that being with Gabriella made him forget everything else in the world. It was a feeling he'd like to get used to.

"Gabriella?" Troy heard Mrs. Montez call out from behind her bedroom door.

"Come in, Mom." Gabriella said. He heard Gabriella yawn. "What time is it?"

"It's only noon, Sweetie. I just wanted to come and check on you before my lunch hour is over."

"Mom," Gabriella said, "You didn't have to come and check on me."

"It's fine," Mrs. Montez said. "I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay."

"I've just been in bed all morning."

"Did you eat anything yet? I can heat some soup for you."

"Mom, I'm fine. I don't feel hungry anyway. I can get some food for me later. Really, you don't have to worry." Gabriella insisted to her mother.

"If you say so," Mrs. Montez said.

"I do," Gabriella replied with a little laugh.

Mrs. Montez sighed. "Fine. I'll go back to work then. I'm just glad that you're okay. I forget that you're no longer a child and can take care of yourself."

"Oh Mom," Gabriella said. "Don't cry again."

Mrs. Montez sniffled. "I just can't help it. By next year, you'll be on your own at college. I just get sad thinking you won't need me anymore."

Troy could hear Gabriella get out of her bed. "Mom," Gabriella said. "I will always need you, okay?"

"I know," Mrs. Montez said in a quiet voice. "Oh, I just can't believe my baby is a grown woman."

"Okay Mom," Gabriella groaned. "Enough already." Troy couldn't help but smile as he heard the exchange between Gabriella and her mother.

"Fine, I'm leaving," Mrs. Montez replied. "And I might be working late tonight. I may not be home till nine or ten. Will you be okay by yourself?"

"I'll be fine." Gabriella told her.

"I love you, Sweetie."

"I love you, too. Bye Mom."

Troy heard Mrs. Montez leave the bedroom and head back downstairs. He waited until he heard her leave the house before going out to join Gabriella. Troy opened the closet door and gave Gabriella a smile.

"What?" She asked rolling her eyes at him.

"That's really sweet that your mom fusses over you." Troy told her as he joined her on the bed and put one arm around her as Gabriella leaned against him.

"Being an only child and having a single parent gets that kind of reaction from her. She's having a hard time with me leaving for college next year." Gabriella told him quietly with sadness in her voice.

"My mom fusses over me, too. When I go to U of A, she'll still fuss even though I'll be close by."

"When you go to U of A?" Gabriella asked. "I thought you were looking at other schools."

"Maybe I shouldn't have said when, huh?" Troy looked down at her face.

"Maybe not."

"I guess wherever I go; my mom will have the same reaction."

"I can't believe a year from now we'll be in college. It's surreal."

"I know," Troy agreed. "So, you're really looking at Stanford?"

"Yeah," she thought forlornly. "My mom and I have been talking about it since I was a little girl. My dad went there."

"Do you mind me asking what happened to your dad?"

Gabriella could feel her eyes brimming with tears. "My dad died when I was eight. He went out to get some milk from the gas station down the street from our house and he never came back."

Troy wrapped his arm tighter around Gabriella. "What happened? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Gabriella put her hand in Troy's free one and squeezed his hand. "I do want to tell you. I haven't really told anyone else, not even Sharpay. This all happened before we moved to Albuquerque." Gabriella sighed. "There was a robbery going on at the gas station when my dad walked into it. The robber was caught off guard and shot my dad in the chest. According to the reports, he died instantly." Gabriella knew that by now her tears were coming out full force. "I miss him so much."

Troy wrapped both his arms around her. "I'm so sorry you went through that at such a young age."

Gabriella wiped her eyes and nose with a tissue. "Thanks Troy. It was good for me to think about it. I've pushed it away all these years. But going to Stanford would've made him proud. I know it's where I want to be."

"I'm sure you'll get in."

She gave him a small smile. "Thanks." Then she gave him a serious look and reached for his hand. "What about you? You said there are other schools you are considering besides U of A. Where else are you thinking?"

"Actually, the University of California – Berkeley is interested in me. They're offering me a really good package." Troy told her, hoping that Gabriella would realize the connection.

"That's amazing Troy. How do your parents feel?"

"They don't really know about it. My dad is a U of A alum and he wants me to follow in his legacy."

"Why don't you just talk to him about it?" Gabriella asked.

"You don't know my dad. He's a great guy but he can be very hardheaded and stubborn. It's almost always his way or the highway." Troy said with a little bitterness.

"Troy, this is your future. You should do what you want."

"It's a lot easier to say, Brie."

"Well, what do you want to do?"

"Brie, would it be crazy if I wanted to go to Berkeley."

"Why would it be? It's your decision. It's your future."

"Now that you're in my life, I'd give up everything at U of A to go to Berkeley." Troy said gazing into her eyes.

Gabriella could feel herself blushing. She knew that Berkeley was about 33 miles from Stanford. If Troy went to Berkeley, they'd be close together. "As much as I love hearing that, don't base your decision solely on me. What if we break up?"

Troy gave her a serious look. "I don't ever want to break up. I just want things to go on forever with you."

"I think I feel the same way, too." Gabriella told him. "Are we crazy?"

"Maybe," Troy teased. "But I do know that I'm really happy right now."

Gabriella looked at Troy and nodded. She brought Troy's head close to hers. "Me too." She said quietly as she kissed him. Maybe they were crazy, but Gabriella knew she was head-over-heels in love with Troy Bolton. She may have lost her best friend today, but she knew she was gaining not only a boyfriend in Troy, but a new best friend as well.

* * *

**A/N: I know I've spoiled you with my frequent updates this past weekend. I'm very pleased that I got so many chapters done for "Anything Else But the Truth". I appreciate all the reviews - it's because of you that I wanted to update so quickly :D**

**Now that I'll be starting work again, it may not be as frequent - but please be patient! I hope to add two more chapters this week. I really love writing this fanfic. **

**The title of this chapter is called "You Could Be Happy" by Snow Patrol.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**~Dee**


	16. Look After You

**A/N: Hi Readers - I apologize for not updating the last month. It's been a really busy time for me at work! I haven't had much free time to write. So many apologies.**

**This chapter is rather long - so I hope you enjoy the Troyella moments. **

**Please read and review. I appreciate it!!!!**

**As always, thanks for reading.**

**~Dee**

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**CHAPTER SIXTEEN: LOOK AFTER YOU**

Gabriella snuck a peak at Troy's profile. They had been laying in her bed for most of the afternoon. She was in the nook of his arm and she laid her head against his chest. They had talked about anything and everything. It was a wonderfully perfect day. She was enjoying herself so much that she had almost forgotten about this morning's event at her locker. The confrontation by Sharpay had been too much. She knew she couldn't hide from everyone and would have to go to school the next day.

Troy looked down at Gabriella and smiled. How lucky was he? He had one of the most beautiful girls in the world in his arms. Besides her obvious beauty, she was smart, funny, and sincere. He didn't care if everyone at East High knew he was crazy about her. He smiled down at her. "Brie," he started, "how about we go on our date right now?"

"Really?" Gabriella asked. "What about tomorrow night?"

"We can do something else tomorrow. I really want to take you to a special place."

Gabriella smiled at him. "Okay. Let's go out. What should I wear?"

Troy looked up and down Gabriella's body. She was wearing dark jeans and simple black long sleeved shirt. "You look perfect."

Gabriella blushed. "Well, let me at least freshen up." She got out of her bed and made her way to the bathroom.

Troy leaned back against the pillows and smiled. He couldn't believe his luck. He finally got the girl of his dreams. He checked his watch. It was about 4:00 pm. He should've told his dad he would be missing practice. Now, it was too late to say anything. He would just have to brace his punishment later. Troy scowled at the thought, but the scowl was replaced by a big smile as Gabriella came back into her room. She had brushed her hair out making her curls fall in lush waves down her back. She had applied some lip gloss to her lips and her face was lovely.

"You ready to go?" Gabriella asked.

"Not yet." Troy said.

"And why is that?"

"I just want to remember this image as long as I can." Troy told her.

Gabriella blushed again. "If you keep saying stuff like that, my face may permanently be red forever."

Troy laughed. "I hope so. Not to your red face, but to the forever part."

Gabriella gave him a startled look. "Forever is a long time."

Troy beckoned fro Gabriella to come closer to him. As she reached him, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "If given the chance, I want to be forever with you."

Gabriella felt tears prickling her eyes and she gave Troy a smile. "I'd like that." She leaned down and gave him a gentle kiss. She pulled away from him and gave Troy a wicked grin.

"What's the grin for?"

"It's time for our date," she said with a giggle. And before Troy could respond, Gabriella yanked him off the bed.

"Whoa there, little lady!" Troy exclaimed. "For someone so little, you sure have a strong grip."

Gabriella laughed. "Never underestimate someone's strength based on size."

"Lesson learned." Troy agreed with a laugh.

"Come on," Gabriella began. "Let's get going. I'm ready for this date of yours."

They held hands as they made their way down the stairs. "Oh, I better leave a note for my mom."

"What for?" Troy asked. "I promise I'll get you home before she gets here. It won't be a late night. Trust me."

"If you say so." Gabriella said.

Troy looked at his watch. "It's about 4:15 right now. I'll get you home by 7:00 at the latest, is that enough time?"

Gabriella's smile widened. "Plenty. When my mom works late, she's usually home by 8:30 or 9:00."

"Let's get out of here," Troy said.

They made their way to Troy's battered truck. He knew his truck was a clunker but he loved it. He and his dad had repaired it together and it meant something to him. "Sorry, if my truck isn't up to your standards."

"No need to apologize to me. Your truck's got character." She gave him an encouraging smile. "Troy, I could care less what kind of vehicle you drive. If you picked me up on a unicycle, I gladly go with you anywhere."

They got into the truck and buckled their seat belts. He turned to her, "This is exactly why I think you're amazing. You're not at all superficial or egotistical."

Gabriella knew Troy was comparing her to Sharpay, but she wasn't going to gloat. She knew her best friend had complained about Troy's truck on numerous occasions, always wishing Troy would drive a hotter car and whatnot. Gabriella shrugged to Troy. "I'm just me."

He grinned and started up the car. "Do you want to listen to some music?"

Gabriella shook her head, "Not really. We can just talk. So, where are we going?"

"Sorry, it's a surprise. I'm taking you somewhere I've never taken anyone else."

"Really?"

"Really Gabriella. This is one of my favorite places in the world. I hope you'll love it as much as me."

"Well then, I can't wait." Gabriella said laughing. They made more small talk as they drove. Gabriella couldn't help but feel ecstatic and loving every moment of her time with Troy. She was so engulfed in their conversation that she hadn't realized Troy had stopped the car.

"We're here."

Gabriella looked and saw that they were sitting in Troy's driveway. "We're at your house. I've been here before."

"Just get out of the truck and come with me." Troy said, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

"Whatever you say." Gabriella got out and looked at Troy.

He reached his hand out to her. "Let's go inside. I have to grab some things."

"Okay," Gabriella said hesitantly.

Troy opened the front doors to his house and led her in. Gabriella always felt right at home whenever she was at Troy's, but she was seeing it in a different light this time and admired the way everything was decorated. "I can give you a grand tour later."

"You're home is beautiful. It's like I stepped into the pages of a West Elm catalog." Gabriella said in awe.

"Wow, you got a good eye. My mom loves West Elm. She's going to love you."

Gabriella blushed. She had never met Troy's mom before. "Is she here?"

"No, she'll be home in a bit. So, we should get out of here. I'm not allowed to entertain ladies in my house without my parents present."

"How often are you entertaining the ladies?" Gabriella teased.

He turned and gave her a loving look. "It's just you now. Anyone before you doesn't matter."

Gabriella looked away from Troy's gaze. She should be jumping up and down, but she still felt bad for Sharpay. She decided to change the subject. "So, what do you need from here?"

"You'll see. Let's go to the kitchen."

Gabriella loved the whole look of Troy's kitchen. It was huge. The cabinets and counters were a soft tan color and everything in the kitchen centered around the huge island containing the sink and prepping space for cooking. Gabriella watched as Troy went to refrigerator and started pulling things out of there. She saw him loading the items into a picnic basket. "A picnic? Sounds wonderful."

He smiled and grabbed her hand again. "Let's go." Troy led her to the patio doors that led to his vast backyard. "After you."

"Thanks." Gabriella said meekly, wondering where Troy was taking her. Then she saw the half-size basketball court in Troy's backyard. Troy loved basketball – the court could be his favorite place. But Troy wasn't leading them in that direction. Instead he brought her to a huge tree.

"Here we are." Troy told her.

"And where exactly are we sitting?" She teased.

Troy smiled. "Look up."

Gabriella gasped as she saw the hidden tree house. She finally noticed the wooden stairs leading up the way. "This is amazing."

"My dad and I built it when I was little. It's my favorite place in the world and I'm sharing it with you."

"I feel very honored."

"After you," Troy gestured towards the stairs.

Gabriella climbed up the stairs and was amazed at how sturdy it was. As she reached the top, she noticed a blanket had been laid on the floor. Three candles sat in the center of the blanket. "Troy, this is wonderful. When did you have time to set this up?"

Troy blushed. "I had a little time to get some things this morning before I came over to your house. Have a seat. There are some cushions there if you need one." Troy put the basket down and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a lighter. "Let me set the mood." He lit the three votive candles in their glass holders. He wanted everything to be perfect. He was embarrassed when he researched the web for romantic tips. But he did find a sight that said candles were romantic. _Here's hoping,_ he thought.

The lit candles brought a soft glow to the light house. It was perfect in Gabriella's opinion. She was curious to see what Troy had in the basket. "Everything's great, Troy. I feel so special."

"You should. You're the only girl I've ever brought up here." Troy said. "Well, technically the second."

Gabriella raised her eyebrow at Troy. "And?" She said teasingly.

"It was my mom." He told her laughing. "You hungry?"

"Starved." Gabriella said. "Let's see what's in there."

Troy started taking things out of the basket. "I didn't know what kind of sandwich you like so I grabbed a few from the deli. We have turkey, egg salad, tuna, and ham. Potato salad. And for dessert, chocolate covered strawberries."

"Wow, you really thought everything out. I'll have tuna, please." She grabbed the sandwich and removed the plastic wrap from it. Troy handed her a small plate of potato salad. She took a bite of the sandwich. It was wonderful. The tuna was nicely crunchy and not overdone with mayo. "This is a really good sandwich."

Troy nodded as he took a bite of the ham sandwich. "Pete's Plate makes the best sandwiches in Albuquerque. Their bread is made daily and their ingredients are always fresh."

"I can tell." Gabriella took a bite of the potato salad. It was very tasty. "So, why do you love this place so much?"

"My dad and I built it when I was seven. We spent so much time out here putting it together. It was just fun to hang out with my dad, you know. My dad's pretty awesome, but sometimes it's hard being the coach's son. There's more pressure from him for me to perform well. Sometimes, he's harder on me than anyone." Troy felt embarrassed as he realized he was going on about the topic. "I'm sorry, if I'm talking too much."

Gabriella reached out and lightly patted his arm. "You can tell me anything, Troy."

"This is the only place I can come to and just be myself. No pressures or anything. I'll come out here and just be at peace with the world."

Gabriella smiled. "I think all of us want a place like that. I'm glad you have yours."

"Here, let me take that for you." Troy offered as he saw Gabriella's empty plate. He took their plates and threw it in a plastic bag and stuck it in the picnic basket. He brought out a bowl of plump strawberries covered in chocolate. "Ready for dessert?"

"Those look amazing. Where'd you find these?"

"I got the strawberries from LuLu's. They have chocolate dipped everything there – they even have chocolate dipped potato chips."

"No way?" Gabriella said.

"They do." Troy gave her a strawberry. "Try it."

Gabriella took the strawberry and bit into it. It was delightful. The strawberry was a perfect blend of sweet and tart. The chocolate enhanced its' flavor. "Wow. Scrumptious." She took one out and brought it to his lips. "Your turn."

Troy grinned and took a bite of the strawberry. "Now that is the tastiest strawberry I've ever had."

"And why's that?" Gabriella said laughing.

"I've never been fed a strawberry by such a beautiful girl before."

"Flattery will always win you points." Gabriella leaned towards Troy, careful of the candles. "It will also win you kisses." She pressed her lips against Troy's. She could taste the strawberries and chocolate from his lips and mouth. She felt herself go weak as Troy placed a hand behind her neck and deepened the kiss.

"Troy!" They broke their embrace as they heard Troy's mother at the bottom of the tree. "Troy, can you come here a minute?"

Troy looked down and saw his mom. "Hi Mom, I'll be right down." He gave Gabriella an apologetic grin. "I'll be right back." Troy made his way down and joined his mother. She beckoned for him to go into the house. Once they were inside she turned towards her son and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Explain yourself, please?" Mrs. Bolton said.

"About what?" Troy asked, trying to be innocent.

"Troy, your father called me and said you left school this morning and you missed practice. He's going to talk to you about that later. But why did you leave school today?"

"It's sort of complicated, Mom. I was concerned about a friend."

"And is that friend out in the tree house right now?"

Troy nodded. "Yes." He looked at his mom and shrugged. "I'm sorry; I should've called and told you. It's just that, this is something personal I'm dealing with."

"Why don't you try and tell me, honey." Mrs. Bolton said with concern.

Troy nodded. "I broke up with Sharpay on Saturday."

"Oh wow, why didn't you tell us?"

"Mom," Troy said, "It's just something you don't want to say to your parents, okay. Anyway, I broke up with her because I'm crazy about someone else."

"Well, I'm proud of you then. It's never good to lead anyone on." Mrs. Bolton told her son encouragingly.

Troy avoided looking at his mom as he told her the next part. "I'm crazy about Sharpay's best friend."

Mrs. Bolton nodded. "You guys are young Troy. I'm sure Sharpay understands. Now, does the best friend have feelings for you?"

Troy smiled shyly. "She does. And that's why we're in trouble. I met up with Gabriella last night at IHOP and we decided to be a couple officially."

"So what happened?"

"We decided to be secretive."

"Honey, secrets always have a way of coming out sooner than later."

Troy nodded. "I know. Someone sent Sharpay a photo of us, you know, kissing in the parking lot at IHOP."

Mrs. Bolton smiled as she noticed her son blushing. "If you guys wanted to be secretive, what were you doing kissing in such a public place?" Mrs. Bolton teased.

"Seriously Mom," Troy rolled his eyes. "We were saying good-bye and I kissed her. Someone saw us, took a picture and texted it to Sharpay. She confronted Gabriella this morning and said all these horrible things. Gabriella left school and I followed her. I just wanted to make sure she was okay. I'm sorry that I left school, but I had to be there for a friend."

Mrs. Bolton looked at her son thoughtfully. "Well, you know I'm supportive of any decisions you make. But your father is not thrilled that you missed practice. You should probably take Gabriella home before he gets here."

Troy gave his mom a hug. "Thanks Mom. I'll go get Gabriella. I'd like you to meet her. Maybe then, you'll see why I'm crazy about her." Troy knew he was blushing again, but he didn't care. He really wanted his mom to like Gabriella.

"I'd like to meet her, too." Mrs. Bolton said.

Troy went back to the tree house. "Sorry," he started. "My mom wanted to know why I left school today. I told her the truth."

Gabriella winced. "She's going to think I'm horrible. A home-wrecker or something."

Troy laughed. "Stop it. My mom's unbelievably cool. She wants to meet you."

Gabriella's eyes widened. "Is that a good idea?"

"Yes, it is. I told her the truth and she's supporting us. Come on, let's go. Besides, I should bring you home before my dad gets here. He's not thrilled I missed practice." Troy grabbed the picnic basket and made his way down the stairs. Gabriella followed him.

Troy brought her to the kitchen and Gabriella observed a pretty woman with dark brown hair chopping up some vegetables. Troy cleared his throat. The woman looked up and gave Gabriella a big smile. "Mom, this is Gabriella Montez. Gabriella, this is my mom."

Mrs. Bolton wiped her hands on a towel and made her way towards them. She extended her hand to Gabriella and they shook hands. "Hi Gabriella, welcome to our home."

"Thank you Mrs. Bolton. You have great taste. I am a big fan of West Elm, too. I wish there was a store in Albuquerque. Whenever I visit our relatives in Denver, I always visit there with my mom."

Mrs. Bolton smiled widely. "All the stuff in the living room, I ordered and had it shipped from Jacksonville when we visited Troy's grandparents a couple of years ago. Their designs are just so modern, chic, and trendy."

"I know." Gabriella felt so at ease with Troy's mom. She was a lovely woman. She could see why Troy was so outgoing and personable. "I'm sorry Mrs. Bolton if I've gotten Troy into any trouble. I feel really bad."

"Don't worry about it, dear," Mrs. Bolton said. "Troy told me about your situation. I just hope that things will work out in the end for everybody."

"I hope so, too," Gabriella said quietly. Then she looked at Troy, "I should get going. I have some homework I should get to. It was really nice meeting you."

"You too, Gabriella. I hope to see you around here sometime soon." Mrs. Bolton told her.

"I hope so, too." Gabriella agreed.

Troy was smiling as he observed the exchange between his mom and Gabriella. Even in the time that he dated Sharpay, he noticed that Sharpay had never really had a conversation with his mother. His mom obviously liked Gabriella; he couldn't wait to hear what she had to say about her once he got home from dropping Gabriella off. "Gabriella will be here all the time, Mom," Troy said. "You'll have time for more conversations in the future. I better get Gabriella home. See you in a bit."

"Drive safely," Mrs. Bolton called after them.

"I will," Troy called back with a laugh. Once they were situated in his truck, Troy turned to Gabriella. "I hope you were okay back there."

"Your mom's awesome. She's really sweet. I liked her very much."

"I can tell she likes you a lot, too." Troy said. "Sorry, we have to cut our date so short."

"It's all good. I just hope you aren't in too much trouble with your dad."

"It'll be fine. So, you ready for school tomorrow?"

Gabriella shook her head. "I don't know what to think, really. At least, we can walk into East High together."

Troy smiled. "Exactly." Troy started the truck and started driving towards Gabriella's house. They both sat in silence taking in all the events of the day. The morning had started rough, but now, he couldn't be happier. Gabriella was his girlfriend and he didn't have to hide it from anyone.

Gabriella was a little scared of what might happen tomorrow. At least, she wouldn't have to face it alone. Troy would be by her side. She smiled as thought about that. They would brave the crowd tomorrow. She knew there would be people that would support their newfound relationship, and there would be others that would be against it. _You can't please everyone_, Gabriella thought. All she knew was that at this moment, she was the happiest girl in the world.

Troy parked in front of her house. "We're here," he said quietly, with a little sadness in his voice. He got out of the truck and walked Gabriella to her front door. "So, how about I pick you up tomorrow? And we'll face the scary East High student body together."

"Sounds like a plan." Gabriella told him. "Thanks for coming over today and for the date. We'll be fine."

"Yes, we will." Troy leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. "I don't want to say good-bye at all."

"Me either," Gabriella said. "But you better get home before your dad gets there. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'll come over around 7:00 to pick you up. See you then."

"See ya, Troy."

Troy walked away from her and made his way to his truck. He looked back at her and gave her a small wave. He got in his tuck and made his way back home. He hoped his dad would understand, but he knew that wouldn't be the case. Oh well, he thought, he had to do what he did. Once Troy was back at his house, he parked in the driveway and made his way inside.

As he walked in, his dad came out of the kitchen. "We need to talk." He said frostily heading to his office in the back of the house.

Troy gulped. "Oh boy," he muttered under his breath. It was now or never. Troy grudgingly followed his dad to his office. He knew he was going to get a lecture. He just hoped he'd survive it because nothing was going to take away his perfect day with Gabriella.

* * *

**A/N: The title of this chapter is "Look After You" by The Fray.**

**Hope you enjoyed. I promise not to let too much time go by before my next update. **

**Also, I am working on a Greek fanfic at the same time I am working on this story. Thanks.**


	17. You Don't Know Me

****

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: YOU DON'T KNOW ME

Troy took a seat across from his dad. His dad looked at him, unable to hide his anger and disappointment. Coach Bolton frowned at his son. "Troy, do you know how disappointed I am?"

Troy gulped. "I'm sorry, Dad. I should've told you I was missing practice."

"It's not just practice, Troy. You skipped out on a whole school day. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I had to help a friend out." Troy said quietly.

"Troy, why didn't you tell me you and Sharpay broke up?"

Troy looked at his dad with a surprised expression. "How'd you know about that?"

Coach Bolton chuckled for a second. "The faculty knows everything. I just didn't appreciate that I had to find out from Ms. Darbus that you weren't in homeroom due to an incident that involved Sharpay and Gabriella Montez."

"It's my fault that happened." Troy started. "I broke up with Sharpay on Saturday because I like someone else."

"Gabriella Montez?"

Troy nodded. "I feel awful because Gabriella and Sharpay are best friends. But I couldn't keep away from her and Gabriella feels the same way towards me."

Coach Bolton shook his head at Troy. "How can you give up your future like that?"

"What are you talking about?" Troy demanded.

"You're giving up your chance to play at U of A."

"And how's that?" Troy asked.

"You know Sharpay's father is on the Board of Directors at U of A. How do you think he's going to feel towards you knowing that you broke his daughter's heart?" Coach Bolton looked at Troy in disgust.

Troy felt like he'd been smacked. Was his dad serious? "Dad, are you listening to yourself? I don't need Mr. Evans to get me into U of A."

"Don't be silly, Troy. You are a shoo-in for a full scholarship according to Mr. Evans. Now, that could change because you dumped his daughter. Honestly, how could you be so careless? You should really consider getting back together with Sharpay before he finds out."

"What?" Troy exclaimed. "If U of A doesn't want me on my talents alone, then forget about them. I am not going to sell myself out just to get a pass. Besides, who I date is none of your business."

"You're damn right, it's my business. What you do reflects on the team, Troy. How do you think Jason or Chad are going to feel when you're no longer being considered for U of A. The three of you are being recruited together."

"You're being so ridiculous. Has U of A even shown that they lost interest? You're jumping to conclusions here. I've met Mr. Evans and he's not the kind of man to ruin a kid's chance at college. He'd never do something like that."

Coach Bolton was red in the face as he looked at his son. "I'm just looking out for you, okay? I just don't think you're being objective here. You're giving up everything for some girl you barely know."

"Dad," Troy began. "Gabriella is not just some girl. She's special. She's shown me that I can do anything I want. She listens to me and I find that very refreshing. And to be honest, U of A isn't the only school that's interested in me."

"What are you talking about?" Coach Bolton asked, his eyes blazing.

"Dad, I know you want me to go to U of A and carry on your legacy, but I'm looking at other schools." Troy told him.

Coach Bolton shook his head. "Over my dead body you're going to another school! You've been written down for U of A since you were born. I raised you as a Red Hawk fan. How can you just give your dream away?"

Troy winced as his father started raising his voice. Troy was not going to back down. "It's not my dream, Dad!" He shouted. "U of A is your dream! I'll go wherever I want to go! It's my future!"

Coach Bolton looked at his son in shock. He didn't even recognize the boy sitting across from him. His son would never yell back like that. "If I'm paying for your college education, you'll go where I want you to go. You're going to U of A Troy and that's final."

Troy could feel his anger start to boil. How dare he? He thought. His dad was being so unreasonable. "Then I'll find my own way of paying for college. I'm done with U of A."

Coach Bolton froze and looked at his son with annoyance. "Son, you better think long and hard about this. We'll continue this conversation tomorrow. You're dismissed."

Troy stood up and walked towards the door. Just as he was leaving his dad's office, he heard, "One more thing."

Troy turned towards his dad and frowned, "What?"

"You're grounded for the next two weeks. You will ride to school with me everyday and go to every practice. No car, no dates, and no internet. I'll let you keep your phone because you need it, but other than that, you're banned from everything else, including Gabriella Montez."

"That's not fair!" Troy argued. "Leave Gabriella out of this."

"I don't even want to hear that you defy another school rule because of her. As of right now, she's bad in my books." Coach Bolton said.

Troy glared at his dad. "You are so unreasonable, you know that? For once, can you just treat me like your son? And not your son that's a basketball star? Will you ever do that? I can't even talk to you right now." Troy left his dad's office and slammed the door behind him. He was seething with anger and felt like he was going to burst. He loved his dad but sometimes he acted like such a jerk.

Troy nearly collided with his mother as he made his way to his bedroom. "Sorry Mom," Troy said quietly.

Mrs. Bolton looked at her son with concern. "Troy, don't be mad at your dad. He loves you so much."

"No, he doesn't. He loves his basketball star son. He's being so unfair. Grounded for two weeks!" Troy whined to his mom.

Mrs. Bolton patted her son on the arm. "You know that whenever you and your dad get into arguments, I stay out of it. I'm not going to tell you that what you did was right or wrong, or if you deserved to get punished. You'll just have to serve your time and try harder, okay?"

Troy nodded. "I understand."

Mrs. Bolton kissed her son on the cheek. "You better get to your room and get some homework done. Dinner will be ready in 20 minutes."

"Okay, Mom," Troy said to her as he made his way to his bedroom. Once he was in his room, he took his cell phone out and called Gabriella. She picked up on the first ring. "Hey, it's me." He said softly as he took a seat on his bed and laid down.

"Hey there," Gabriella said cheerfully. "How's it going?"

Troy groaned. "I can't pick you up tomorrow. I'm grounded for the next two weeks."

"Oh no," Gabriella said sadly. "I feel awful. It's all my fault. If I hadn't left school, then you wouldn't be in this situation."

"Brie," Troy told her, "it's not your fault. I should've told my dad I was skipping school and practice. He's just upset, he'll get over it."

"I still feel really bad. Why couldn't I be a stronger person and just face up to Sharpay this morning? Why did I have to run off like a baby?" Gabriella lamented.

"Hey, stop beating yourself up about this. I may be grounded, but you and I are okay. We'll just have to wait until two weeks to have our next date. At least we get to see each other in school. And I'm sure I can convince my parents that we have to get together to work on our Family Living project. So they'll have to let us get together then." Troy told her.

Gabriella laughed. "That's right. Thank goodness we have TJ. Where is he by the way?"

Troy groaned. "I was so preoccupied this morning that I left TJ in the boys locker room. Hopefully he hasn't made a peep."

"Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed, unable to control her laugher. "We are going to get into so much trouble. This is considered neglect!"

"It's a doll. It'll be fine." Troy said.

"Whatever you say," Gabriella said. "So, what do you want to do about tomorrow?"

"I'll meet you outside the student parking lot at 7:15. We'll walk in together."

"Okay, sounds like a plan. I'll see you then." Gabriella said.

Troy smiled as he said, "Until then. Sweet dreams, Gabriella."

"You, too," Gabriella said quietly.

After they hung up, Troy laid on his bed staring at the ceiling. He could hear his stomach grumbling and wondered what his mom had made for dinner. He dreaded having to sit at the dinner table with his dad, but he'd have to if he wanted to eat. His parents refused to let him eat in his bedroom or the living room. It was important to his parents to eat together as a family.

He thought about Gabriella and the school day tomorrow. He was sure by now, the whole school had heard about Sharpay's confrontation. He didn't know what to expect. At least, he and Gabriella would walk into East High tomorrow a new couple. Even though he was grounded, Troy couldn't help but think that at least his senior year was getting off to a great start.

* * *

Gabriella was nervous as she pulled into the East High parking lot. She checked her watch. It was only 7:10, so she had a little time before meeting up with Troy. She hadn't been able to sleep at all the night before. She had taken a while to find the perfect outfit for today. She figured that if people were going to talk about her and point at her today, she'd at least look as put together as possible. She decided on a pair of dark jeans with a beige v-neck sweater that hugged her curves. She was wearing knee high brown suede boots. The boots gave her extra height. She let her dark curls fall loose around her shoulders. She got out of her jeep and grabbed her backpack and looked around for Troy.

She noticed the back of his head right away. He was standing with his back to her towards the entrance of the lot. She smiled as she made her way towards him. All of a sudden her path was blocked by a tall figure.

"Hey Gabriella," the tall figure said.

Gabriella looked up in surprise at Zeke. "Hi Zeke."

"So, how are you?" Zeke asked.

"I'm okay." Gabriella said, and then before she could lose her nerve, she continued. "Zeke, I'm really sorry about everything. I can't go out with you."

Zeke gave her a smile. "It's cool, Gabriella. I was going to break our date, too. I figured since you and Bolton like each other."

"I'm sorry if I led you on. I'm not that type of girl. But, you probably think I'm a horrible person for liking my best friend's ex." Gabriella told him.

"You're not a horrible person. It's just a sucky situation. Hopefully things will be better for you. And Sharpay." Zeke replied.

"We'll see. I know she hates me right now." Gabriella said dejectedly.

"I'm sure she's a mix of emotions right now. She's obviously hurt from her break up from Troy and then she learns her best friend and her ex like each other. I'm sure she wants to be happy for you, but it's an odd and uncomfortable situation for her. Just give it some time."

Gabriella gave Zeke a genuine smile. "Thanks Zeke. I hope that we can become better friends."

"I'd like that." Zeke said.

"You should consider playing basketball for the Wildcats. I'm sure they could use your talent. They're a pretty outstanding team already, but they could always use help." Gabriella said.

"I might actually consider that. Thanks. See you around." Zeke waved to her as he walked away. As soon as Zeke was out of her path, she resumed her way towards Troy. She came up behind him and gently cleared her throat.

Troy turned around and his smile brightened. Gabriella was absolutely stunning today. "Hey Brie," he said, giving her a hug. He breathed in her familiar scent of honey and vanilla. "You look beautiful," he whispered in her ear.

Gabriella noticed that other students were starting to notice their embrace. _Ignore them_, she told herself. She saw that some of the students smiled when they looked at them, others scowled. "So, you ready to do this?" Gabriella asked as they pulled away from each other.

Troy nodded. "I can't wait to show the whole school that you're my girl." He said taking Gabriella's hand in his.

Gabriella blushed. "I'm excited, too. So, how was the rest of your night?"

Troy shrugged. "Whatever. I told my dad I was considering other schools beside U of A and he freaked out."

"Oh no, I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for? You helped me realize that I can go to any school I want. U of A is my dad's dream." Troy told her.

"But Troy," Gabriella said, "I don't want your dad to hate me. He's going to think I'm the reason why you've decided to look elsewhere."

"Brie," Troy said, "I already told him you inspired me to see my future as something else. And that's a good thing."

"I just don't want to make a bad impression on your dad. I don't really know him."

"Hey, stop worrying, okay?" Troy wanted to change the subject. He didn't really want to tell Gabriella that his father wanted him to get back together with Sharpay. "Anyway, let's head towards the school. I see Chad and Jason by the entrance. Let's go talk to them."

They gave each other encouraging looks and made their way towards the entrance of the school. Gabriella felt safe as she held on to Troy's hand. As they neared Chad and Jason, Gabriella could see them both smiling widely at them.

"Look at you two," Chad called out. "So, this is for real then?"

Gabriella nodded. "It is."

Jason walked up to Troy and clapped him on the back. "We're happy for you. Now maybe Troy can focus on basketball again."

"Ha ha, very funny." Troy retorted.

"Dude, your dad was pissed off. How much trouble did you get?" Chad asked.

"Grounded for two weeks. No dates, no wheels, no internet. I'll be a prisoner in hell." Troy lamented.

"Two weeks isn't too bad. Before you know it, your punishment will be over." Jason said.

Just then a voice interrupted their conversation. "Jason Cross, can I talk to you, please?" They turned and noticed Martha beckoning to her boyfriend. Martha pretended like Gabriella and Troy weren't there.

Jason turned back to Gabriella and Troy and muttered, "Sorry guys, gotta go." Jason made his way towards his girlfriend and they weren't even out of ear shot when they heard Martha yelling at Jason for talking to Troy and Gabriella.

Troy shook his head and looked at Chad. "Is this how it's going to be?" Troy wanted to know.

Chad shrugged. "I don't know, man. It's weird, definitely weird. Sharpay has some serious followers and they're angry at you both. Lucky for me, I don't have to deal with anyone picking sides. Taylor's refusing to pick sides."

Gabriella smiled. "Really?"

Chad nodded. "She's freaked out that this happened, but at the same time she's not surprised either. I guess she always kind of thought you two should be together."

Gabriella felt at ease that at least she'd have an ally in this situation. It was obvious how Martha felt. She needed to find Taylor and talk to her at some point. She could sure use a friend. "Thanks for letting me know, Chad. I feel so alone out there."

Troy put an arm around her. "Hey, you got me. And Chad, right?"

Chad grinned. "I'm always here for you, Gabs."

Gabriella smiled. "I know that, but I feel alone without a girlfriend. I can't tell you boys everything, you know." She said with a laugh.

"We hear you." Troy said. He looked at the clock above the school doors. "We should get going. I better go retrieve TJ from the locker room. I'll walk to you to your locker." Troy and Gabriella said good-bye to Chad as they made their way inside the school doors. "You ready?" He whispered to her.

Gabriella hesitantly nodded. "Now or never, right?"

"Right." Troy said. They started walking down the first corridor. Gabriella braced herself for the menacing glares and scowls, but she was surprised to find that a lot of their classmates smiled at them. Sure, some of them whispered as soon as they walked by and some were shocked to see their bold statement, but other than that, most people seemed to accept their status as a couple. It made Gabriella feel good. Troy noticed as well and smiled at Gabriella. "See? We're old news by now."

"It looks like it. I almost feel okay." Then she froze as they neared her locker. Troy gasped at what he saw. Written across her locker in bright red lipstick was one word: BITCH. Gabriella felt like she's been slapped across the face. "Oh my God," she whispered, as tears started forming. "I can't believe this."

Troy put his arms around Gabriella. "Don't look at it, Brie. Let's go and find Mr. Matsui. This is uncalled for."

By now Gabriella was crying softly. She had never seen such a hurtful word in her life. The lipstick was obviously Sharpay's. It was one of her signature shades. _I am in complete shock_, Gabriella thought. How could Sharpay be this spiteful? She knew her friend was upset, but they had never called each other such names before. It was completely wrong.

As they neared the principal's office, Gabriella saw Sharpay standing by her locker. She made eye contact with her. Gabriella decided that it wasn't worth it to cry at Sharpay's childish and rude actions. She squared her shoulders and threw Sharpay a menacing glare. Sharpay noticed Troy's arms around Gabriella and her eyes darkened. She glared at Gabriella and rolled her eyes at her. Then Sharpay took a compact out and applied a shade of bright red lipstick across her lips; the very same shade of red was on Gabriella's locker.

Gabriella gasped and felt her anger surge. She couldn't believe how bold Sharpay was acting. _Where is my best friend and what have you done to her?_ She thought to herself. She didn't know this side of Sharpay existed. Troy grabbed Gabriella's hand and squeezed it. "Ignore her," he muttered. "Let's go talk to Mr. Matsui."

Gabriella took one last look at Sharpay before entering the principal's office. Sharpay blew her a kiss and waved. Then she shut her locker door with alarming grace. Gabriella watched as she strutted her way to homeroom. Gabriella wasn't sure what scared her more – not having Sharpay as a friend or gaining Sharpay as an enemy. All she knew was that at that very moment, she wasn't going to let anything affect her newfound happiness.

* * *

**A/N: The title of this chapter is called "You Don't Know Me" a song by Ben Folds.**

**I hope you liked the chapter. Please review. I appreciate it.**


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